Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran‘s last monarch, renewed his call for a regime change in Tehran, saying Tuesday night that the Islamic Republic is nearing collapse.
Pahlavi posted a statement on X saying that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has “gone into hiding underground and has lost control of the situation” like a “frightened rat.” He also called to reclaim Iran and come forward to end the regime.
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“Do not fear the day after the fall of the Islamic Republic,” Pahlavi wrote. “Iran will not descend into civil war or instability. We have a plan for Iran’s future and its flourishing. We are prepared for the first hundred days after the fall, for the transitional period, and for the establishment of a national and democratic government—by the Iranian people and for the Iranian people.”
As Iran faces deep internal and external pressure, Pahlavi positioned himself as a possible figurehead for a post-Islamic Republic Iran, calling himself an “advocate for a secular democratic Iran”, according to his website.
Who is Reza Pahlavi?
Pahlavi, 64, was born as the heir to the late Mohammad Reza Shah of Iran and Empress Farah Pahlavi of Iran. He was named crown prince in 1967.
Eleven years later, 17-year-old Pahlavi left Iran for fighter jet training at the U.S. Air Force in Lubbock, Texas. Unrest in Iran was growing, leading the royal family to depart in January 1979.
That same year, the government of Iran was taken over by Islamists after continuous instability. The Islamists established a theocratic regime, a government in which religious leaders rule in the name of deities and religious law is the basis for governance, blocking Pahlavi from returning to Iran.
In 1985, he obtained a political science degree in correspondence at the University of Southern California following his Air Force training. He volunteered to serve in Iran’s military during the Iran-Iraq War but was declined by the clerical regime, according to his website.
Pahlavi is now married to Yasmine Etemad-Amini and has three daughters. He said his daughters, Noor, Iman, and Farah, are “successively his heirs.”
Pahlavi said he has been patriotic and committed to Iran, becoming a leader and advocate of freedom, democracy, and human rights for Iranians since being exiled.
He now leads the Iran National Council, an exiled opposition group, in the United States.
Why does he matter?
Earlier this month, Pahlavi blamed Khamenei for putting Iran into conflict with Israel, calling the regime “weak and divided.” He has called for Iran’s armed forces to “break from the regime” and “join the people.”
“Do not sacrifice yourselves for a decaying regime. By standing with the people, you can save your lives,” Pahlavi said. “Play a historic role in the transition from the Islamic Republic, and take part in building the future of Iran.”
The statement Pahlavi put out will resonate among Iranians because “he is a figure above politics,” according to Nazenin Ansari — managing editor of Kayhan London, a weekly Persian-language newspaper — in an interview with Newsweek on Wednesday.
“When you look at Iran from an institutional perspective, you’ve got the institution of religion and then historically speaking, the institution of monarchy,” Ansari said. “He represents the monarchy although he is not saying he wants to return as king.”
Amid speculation about whether the U.S. will get involved as Israel tries to destroy the Islamic Republic’s nuclear capabilities, Pahlavi’s message is a call for a revolution or an attempt to reassure Iranians there will not be a civil war or instability in Iran.
“He’s the one figure that has been opposing the Islamic Republic in standing for secular democracy for the past 46 years,” Ansari said. “He has a lot of support amongst Republicans and Democrats who are Iran-focused.”
Pahlavi has a five-point plan that outlined the path to toppling the regime and establishing a national government, as well as a plan to grow Iran’s economy through the “Iran Prosperity Project.”
What’s next?
A 2022 study by the Group for Analyzing and Measuring Attitudes in Iran reported that hereditary monarchy is an unpopular form of government in Iran, but it found that Pahlavi polled at 39% support to lead in the future.
Pahlavi has never asserted a hereditary right to rule the country. He has only advocated that the regime be overturned. However, he has never dismissed proposals for the House of Pahlavi’s return to royal status. He claims this would require consent from the people.
Israel seems to be gesturing toward Pahlavi taking back control through hidden messages in the Tehran bombing. The bombing was named “Rising Lion,” an ode to the “Lion and Sun” symbol that was on the Iranian flag before the revolution, tying itself to the House of Pahlavi.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted an image on Tuesday showing the Iranian lion symbol slicing apart the Islamic Republic’s emblem with a caption referencing the “rise of the lions.”
President Donald Trump called for “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” from Iran on Truth Social. One day later, Khamenei said he rejects the U.S.’s call for surrender, warning that any military involvement by the U.S. would cause “irreparable damage” to it.
“Wise individuals who know Iran, its people, and its history never speak to this nation with the language of threats, because the Iranian nation is not one to surrender,” Khamenei said in a recorded video aired by state TV.
In response, Trump commented at the White House Wednesday morning that he wouldn’t say what the military plans to do.
“You don’t seriously think I’m going to answer that question,” Trump said. “You don’t know that I’m going to even do it. You don’t know. I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do. I can tell you this, that Iran’s got a lot of trouble and they want to negotiate.”
TRUMP: ‘NOBODY KNOWS WHAT I’M GOING TO DO’ ON IRAN
Trump also claimed that Iranian government officials have reached out to him and suggested they would travel to the White House to relaunch negotiations on a new nuclear deal.
“Why didn’t you negotiate with me before all this death and destruction? Why didn’t you negotiate? I said to people, ‘Why didn’t you negotiate with me two weeks ago? You could have done fine. You would have had a country.’ It’s very sad to watch this,” Trump said.
He also added that it wasn’t “too late” to find a diplomatic end.