Son of Iran shah kills himself in U.S.

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_iran_pahlavi_suicide

Son of Iran shah kills himself in U.S.

– Tue Jan 4, 6:14 pm ET

BOSTON (Reuters) – Prince Alireza Pahlavi, younger son of the late Shah of Iran,

committed suicide on Tuesday in Boston, according to his brother.

" It is with immense grief that we would like to inform our compatriots of the

passing away of Prince Alireza Pahlavi, " Reza Pahlavi, the Shah's older son,

said on his website, rezapahlavi.org.

Pahlavi, 44, took his life early on Tuesday at his Boston home " plunging his

family and friends into great sorrow, " the note said.

It said he struggled for years to overcome depression over the fate of Iran and

the loss of his father and sister.

Boston police were investigating a suspected suicide that occurred shortly after

2 a.m. local time. Boston media reported that Pahlavi shot himself in his

apartment in the city's South End neighborhood.

The Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown by the Iranian Revolution in 1979

and died in Egypt a year later. His daughter Leila died in a London hotel room

in 2001 of a drug overdose.

Born in Tehran in 1966, Alireza Pahlavi attended schools in Iran before

traveling in 1979 to the United States, where he obtained degrees at Princeton

and Columbia universities.

Pahlavi had attended Harvard University in pursuit of a PhD in Ancient Iranian

studies. A Harvard spokesman said Pahlavi was not currently a student.

(Reporting by Ros Krasny; Editing by Boadle)