BEVERLY HILLS, California -- These days the animated chatter in this storied city's sun-splashed cafes and deep-carpeted restaurants is not about the aftermath of 9/11, or the fall of Enron, or even the Middle East imbroglio. It's about the coming revolution in Iran.
The hot topic is not whether the Iranian monarchy will someday return to power -- it is widely assumed it will -- but whether Reza Pahlavi III, son of the late shah of Iran, deposed by Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979, is a suitable heir to the throne.
This is no joke. The conversations are visceral, angry -- and plotting. No wonder: This is the U.S. headquarters of Iranians-in-exile. Home to more than 3,000 Iran-born citizens, Beverly Hills has the largest concentration of Iranians in the country. About half the student body in the high school is Iranian.