Rastakhiz

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Rastakhiz (Resurrection) is an Iranian monarchist party that was founded on March 2, 1975 by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, under the government of Prime Minister Amir Abbas Hoveyda. The few political parties that were able to continue functioning during this era were also forced to become part of Rastakhiz.

A youth wing, called Rastakhiz Youth, had also been established upon its formation, which Hoveyda referred to as "the instruments of Iran's development." Through this youth wing and a special task force of the party, Rastakhiz embarked upon a large-scale anti-profiteering campaign directed against the bazaari merchants, who were soon identified as "enemies of the state." In October 1975, the Shah, referring to this campaign as a "cultural movement," decreed that anti-profiteerism be made the fourteenth principle of the White Revolution. [1]

It has been active in exile since the revolution and as with other monarchist groups, supports the reestablishment of the constitutional monarchy of 1906 in Iran. Monarchist groups are strictly banned under the government of the Islamic Republic and supporters are typically subject to imprisonment should their affiliation be made public.