By early 1978, dissatisfaction with Iran's secularist
imperial government was growing. By the end of the year, Islamists were demonstrating against the monarchy. Pahlavi wrote in her memoirs that "there was an increasingly palpable sense of unease". Under these circumstances most of the Shahbanu's official activities were cancelled due to concerns for her safety. After leaving Egypt, Mohammad Reza's health further declined from
non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In October 1979, the couple was allowed into the United States for medical treatment, inflaming already tense relations between the US government and the revolutionaries in
Tehran. The tensions ultimately led to the attack and takeover of the American embassy in Tehran in what became known as the
Iran hostage crisis. The Shah and Shahbanu were not permitted to remain in the United States, and shortly after the Shah's surgical treatment on 22 October 1979, the couple departed for
Contadora Island in
Panama. Both Mohammad Reza and Farah viewed the
Carter administration with some antipathy in response to a lack of support. Speculation arose that the
Panamanian government was seeking to arrest Mohammad Reza in preparation for extradition to Iran. The Shah and Shahbanu again made an appeal to President Anwar Sadat to return to Egypt (Empress Farah writes that this plea was made through a conversation between herself and Jehan Sadat). Their request was granted and they returned to Egypt in March 1980, where they remained until
the Shah's death four months later on 27 July 1980.
After the Shah's death , in March 2016 , After the Shah's death, Farah spent two years in Egypt, where President
Anwar Sadat allowed her and the children to stay in the
Koubbeh Palace. She was the
regent in
pretence from 27 July to 31 October 1980. A few months after President Sadat's
assassination in October 1981, Farah and her family left Egypt. President
Ronald Reagan informed her that she was welcome in the United States. Farah first settled in
Williamstown, Massachusetts, and later bought a home in
Greenwich, Connecticut. After the death of her daughter
Princess Leila in 2001, she purchased a smaller home in
Potomac, Maryland, near
Washington, D.C. to be closer to her son and grandchildren. Farah divides her time between Washington, D.C. and
Paris and makes an annual July visit to Mohammad Reza Shah's
mausoleum at Cairo's
al-Rifa'i Mosque. In several TV interviews in French and English, Farah Pahlavi has spoken about her time as Empress of Iran, the Shah, her children, the
Iranian Revolution and her life in exile. Farah attended
the funeral of former U.S. president
Ronald Reagan 2004 in Washington, D.C. She supports charities, including the International Fund Raising for Alzheimer Disease gala in Paris. Farah continues to appear at certain international royal events such as the
2004 wedding of
Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark, the 2010 wedding of
Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark, the
2011 wedding of
Albert II, Prince of Monaco, the 2016 wedding of
Prince Leka of Albania, the
2023 funeral of
Constantine II of Greece, and the
2023 wedding of
Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan. During the
2025–2026 Iranian protests, Pahlavi was interviewed by
Agence France-Presse in Paris, where she said that her return to Iran "will take place soon", expressing admiration for protesters and saying that "there is no turning back" from the current protests. In an interview with AFP after the beginning of the
2026 Iran War, Farah urged the international community to respect the rights of Iranians "to choose their leaders", while stating that her son was "in the process of preparing" a transition should the Islamic Republic fall. She also described Nowruz as a moment that symbolizes an 'awakening' to reclaim freedom in Iran.
Memoir In 2003, Farah wrote a book about her marriage to Mohammad Reza entitled
An Enduring Love: My Life with the Shah. The publication of the former Empress's memoirs attracted international interest. It was a best-seller in Europe, with excerpts appearing in news magazines and the author appearing on talk shows and in other media outlets. However, opinion about the book, which
Publishers Weekly called "a candid, straightforward account" and
The Washington Post called "engrossing", was mixed.
Elaine Sciolino,
The New York Times Paris bureau chief, gave the book a less than flattering review, describing it as "well translated" but "full of anger and bitterness". But ''
National Review's''
Reza Bayegan, an Iranian writer, praised the memoir as "abound[ing] with affection and sympathy for her countrymen."
Documentaries and play In 2009, the Persian-Swedish director
Nahid Persson Sarvestani released a
feature length documentary about Farah Pahlavi's life, entitled
The Queen and I. The film was screened in various International film festivals such as
IDFA and
Sundance. In 2012, the Dutch director Kees Roorda wrote a play inspired by the life of Farah Pahlavi in exile, Liz Snoijink played Farah. ==Honours==