As fighting between Iran and Israel continues, exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi released a video message Tuesday calling for nationwide resistance to end the Islamic Republic. Speaking from exile in the U.S., Pahlavi called on Iranians to bring down the regime and “put an end to this nightmare once and for all.”
“Now is the time to resist; now is the time to reclaim Iran,” he said. “What has begun is irreversible.” In his three-minute address, Pahlavi declared the Islamic Republic’s end was near and urged Iranians to take to the streets. He also said Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei “has gone into hiding underground and has lost control of the situation.”
Pahlavi, the eldest son of the late Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, is seen by many as the leader most capable of uniting the Iranian resistance movement. While he once called himself Reza Shah II after his father’s death in 1980, he no longer seeks to reinstate the monarchy. Instead, he leads a pro-democracy movement from exile near Washington, using his royal background to rally support.
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This latest address comes as Israeli strikes target Iranian military and nuclear sites. Pahlavi blamed Khamenei for “dragging Iran into war” and expressed sympathy for the “defenseless citizens who have suffered and become victims of Khamenei’s thirst for war and delusions.”
While critics warn of the risk of chaos after regime collapse, Pahlavi dismissed those fears: “Iran will not descend into civil war or instability. We are ready for the first hundred days after the fall,” he said.