Youngest Son of Former Shah of Iran, Alireza Pahlavi, Commits Suicide in Boston

The youngest son of the late Shah of Iran, former Iranian prince Alireza Pahlavi, committed suicide in his Boston home, his brother said on his website Tuesday.

In 1979, Alireza Pahlavi's father, the U.S.-backed Shah of Iran, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, was exiled from Iran following the Iranian Islamic Revolution. The shah died a year later.

His youngest son, 44-year-old Alireza Pahlavi, "like millions of young Iranians...was deeply disturbed by all the ills fallen upon his beloved homeland, as well as carrying the burden of losing a father and a sister in his young life. He struggled for years to overcome his sorrow," wrote the shah's eldest son, Reza Pahlavi, on his website.

"It is with immense grief that we would like to inform our compatriots of the passing away of Prince Alireza Pahlavi," Reza Pahlavi wrote. "He finally succumbed (to his sorrows), and during the night

of the 4th of January 2011, in his Boston residence, took his own life, plunging his family and friends into great sorrow."

In 2009, some former opponents of the shah had softened their opinions of his rule after Iran's violent crackdowns on anti-government protesters.