Iran's exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi is gaining ground with Iranians who are tired of the current government, which is bad news for the clerical rulers in Tehran.

• Many Iranians have looked at the opposition figures on offer and settled on Pahlavi as the one with real standing.
• His edge is his family name: under his father, Iran grew fast for years and looked like a rising economic power.
• Reformist politicians such as Mousavi, Karrubi and Khatami carry no comparable record.
• The pitch leans on the idea that Iran was once on the path South Korea and China later took, and lost it.

Outlook: Expect Pahlavi's name to keep surfacing as the main rallying point for Iranians pushing for a change of government.