In the Iranian diaspora, support for Reza Pahlavi, the son of the Shah who was deposed in 1979, is growing as the leader of the opposition.
In just a few days, more than 300,000 people have signed an online petition giving him powers to speak on Iran's future on behalf of the opposition during a transitional period pending a referendum.
Rainer Herman
Editor in Politics.
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Signatories include prominent opponents of the Islamic Republic, including singers and actors, as well as Dubai-based soccer player Ali Karimi.
Other leading opponents, such as Toronto-based activist Hamed Esmailioon, human rights activist Nazanin Boniadi and women's rights activist Masih Alinejad, have yet to speak out.
The Iranian opposition has not spoken with one voice since the latest wave of protests began on September 16.
Last Monday, in an interview with the Persian-language exile broadcaster Manoto TV, Reza Pahlawi, born in 1960, was asked why he wasn't taking the lead.
He made this conditional on him being given confidence and powers to speak for the opposition.
Then, together with other leading figures, he could appear stronger and more determined at the international level as a representative of the opponents of the Islamic Republic.
This requires clear legitimation.
In a first joint action, he and other representatives called for the Revolutionary Guard to be classified as a terrorist organization.
"The Crown Prince is the leader of our revolution"
In Iran, protests have leveled off as a result of violent repression that has killed more than 500 people.
At the rallies that have become known from Tehran or the provincial cities of Zahedan and Izeh in the past few days, the shouts "I give the crown prince full powers" and "The crown prince is the leader of our revolution" were chanted.
Anti-monarchists criticize this new development.
Abdullah Mehtadi from the Kurdish Democratic Party called for a broad front against the Islamic Republic instead of focusing on the crown prince.
Others criticize that the crown prince's campaign is once again promoting a personality cult, that it is continuing sole rule and is directed against the spirit of solidarity among all opponents of the Islamic Republic.
Reza Pahlawi responded to these fears on Saturday.
He wrote on Twitter that he recognizes and fights for only three principles: for Iran's territorial integrity, for a secular democracy based on human rights, and for the right of the people to decide on the next political system in free elections.
He had always refrained from reviving the monarchy in Iran and gave priority to a democratic system.