Exiled crown prince of Iran calls for Khamenei’s ouster

The exiled son of Iran’s last shah, Reza Pahlavi said on Sunday that the US strikes on 3 Iranian nuclear facilities were a result of the “catastrophic pursuit of nuclear weapons” by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s “terrorist regime”.

Pahalvi called on Khamenei to respond to American attacks by “stepping down” from his position for the sake of the Iranian people.

Officially named Crown Prince of Iran in 1967 at the time of his father’s coronation, Reza Pahlavi is an old and familiar voice calling for regime change in the Islamic Republic.

“The strikes on the Islamic Republic’s three nuclear sites are the result of the regime’s catastrophic pursuit of nuclear weapons at the expense of the Iranian people,” he wrote in a post on X.

“Ali Khamenei and his crumbling terrorist regime have failed the nation. As Khamenei considers how to respond from his underground bunker, I say to him: For the sake of the Iranian people, respond by stepping down, so the proud Iranian nation can leave the disastrous period of the Islamic Republic behind and start a new chapter of peace, prosperity and greatness,” Pahlavi added.

Under the Shah regime’s leadership, Iran was considered a vibrant nation—a constitutional monarchy with democratic values.

Reza was training as a pilot in the US when his family was forced into exile. After his father’s death in 1981, Reza declared himself the new king of Iran.

US attacks in Iran

The brash and tough-talking President of the United States, Mr. Donald Trump said the US military carried out precise strikes on Sunday on three Iranian nuclear sites and that Tehran “must now agree to end this war”, following days of speculation over whether the United States would join its ally Israel’s bombing campaign.

“We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, referring to Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz.

“A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site,” Fordo, he said, adding the planes were safely out of Iranian airspace and on the way home.

Reza Pahlavi offers to take over from Ali Khamenei

Meanwhile, on Monday, Reza Pahlavi offered himself up as interim leader to take over the running of the country as it transitions away from dictatorship.

Reza Pahlavi, whose supporters style him as the “Crown Prince of Iran,” appealed to the international community to force out the theocratic regime of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

He said he was setting up a new “secure platform” for dissidents and internal opponents of the regime to coordinate their efforts to overthrow the dictatorship and put the country on the path of a “free and democratic” future.

“We are a proud, ancient and resilient people,” Pahlavi told a press conference in Paris on Monday. “To my compatriots: This is our moment. I am with you. Let us build this new Iran together.”

“I am here today to submit myself to my compatriots to lead them down this road of peace.”

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