The discovery in Iran of a mummified body near the site of a former royal mausoleum has raised speculation it could be the remains of the late Reza Shah Pahlavi, founder of the Pahlavi dynasty.

Hassan Khalilabadi, the head of Tehran city council's cultural heritage and tourism committee, said it is "possible" the mummy is Reza Shah.

The body was discovered during construction work at a Shiite shrine in Tehran, Mr Khalilabadi told the state-run IRNA news agency.

Reza Shah pushed to modernise Iran before being deposed and dying in exile during the Second World War.

His son, Mohammad Reza Shah, became Iran's last shah before the 1979 Islamic Revolution installed the country's Shiite-dominated theocracy.

His grandson, the US-based exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, warned Iran on Twitter "not to hide anything".

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