Ahmad Shah Qajar, and became the first monarch of the Pahlavi dynasty.3 Reza Shah developed Iran’s oil industry and implemented a variety of modernizing reforms. Politically, he concentrated power in the central government while at the same time advocating limits to the tenure of rulers. He initiated sweeping development projects related to the construction of national infrastructure and transportation, education, health, and women’s rights. Moreover, he engaged in religious outreach and became the first monarch in 1,400 years to pay respect to Jews in Iran by praying at a synagogue in Isfahan.4