Exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi announced on Saturday his readiness to steer Iran through a transitional phase once the Islamic Republic is overthrown.
As the conflict in Iran extended into its third week, Pahlavi, the son of the late Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, revealed that he has been actively involved in formulating a transition plan. This initiative aims to prevent any interruptions in governance if the current regime falls.
In a statement shared on social media, Pahlavi mentioned that “capable individuals” have been identified both within Iran and internationally to form what he describes as a “transitional system.”
“Under my leadership, the transitional system will be prepared to take over the governance of the country immediately following the fall of the Islamic Republic. We aim to swiftly establish order, security, freedom, and the foundation for Iran’s prosperity and development,” he stated.
Reza Pahlavi has lived in exile since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which dismantled Iran’s monarchy and gave rise to the Islamic Republic.
Pahlavi has lived in exile since the 1979 Islamic Revolution toppled Iran’s monarchy and established the Islamic Republic.
He has in recent years sought to position himself as a unifying opposition figure and has said he would help guide a transition of power from theocracy to democracy in Iran.
In a message addressed to his “compatriots,” Pahlavi said his plan for governing the country would fall within the framework of the “Iran Prosperity Project.”
In this picture obtained from Iran’s ISNA news agency, Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, looks on in Tehran on October 13, 2024. (Hamed JAFARNEJAD / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images)
He said that many compatriots with valuable experience and expertise have declared “their readiness to participate in the rebuilding of the country and to serve the homeland.”
Since joint operations between the U.S. and Israel began, nearly 50 regime figures have been killed, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was elected this week by Iran’s Assembly of Experts as the country’s new supreme leader.
Reza Pahlavi, the exiled crown prince of Iran, said the Islamic Republic is “crumbling” and called for a democratic transition following recent U.S. and Israeli military strikes. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images)
In an appearance last week on Fox News’ “My View” with Lara Trump, Pahlavi said the Iranian people would not accept any outcome moving forward tied to the current regime.
“Only a clean break will ensure that not only we achieve a democratic solution and alternative to this regime, but there will be people who are not in any form or shape directly associated with this regime,” he said.
Pahlavi said the Iranian people must decide their country’s leadership and that “only the ballot box should determine the outcome and who will be responsible for our country in the future.”
“I think what we will expect any government, including, of course, the current Trump administration to recognize that indeed the best way to help the Iranian people is to allow them to make that choice freely and to support that choice as a Western democracy, as the leading democracy in the world,” he said.
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