IRAN’S exiled crown prince today warned the bloodthirsty Ayatollah is plotting to flee as his terror-stoking reign is “collapsing”.
Reza Pahlavi also urged the West not to “throw Iran’s corrupt regime” a lifeline – or face more bloodshed.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been in hiding since war broke out between Israel and Iran – and is understood to be holed up in a bunker.
However, Pahlavi, son of Iran’s last shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, today claimed that the brutal leader and top regime generals are planning to flee the nation.
He also urged Western countries not to allow the regime “to survive” – describing it as Iran’s “Berlin wall moment”.
Speaking in Paris, the prince said: “But like all moments of great change, it comes with danger.
“We stand at a crossroads. One road leads to bloodshed and chaos. The other to a peaceful and democratic transition.
“The difference in these two roads depends on one factor and one factor alone.
“If the West provides a lifeline to the regime, there will be increased violence and disorder because, after being humiliated, the regime will neither cease nor capitulate.”
Pahlavi warned nowhere in the world will be safe as long as the Ayatollah’s regime remains in power.
He added: “No country, no people are safe whether its on the streets of Washington, Paris, Jerusalem, Riyadh or Tehran.”
Today, Pahlavi declared he has pledged to “assist our great nation in navigating this critical period towards stability” yet emphasized he does not aspire to hold political power.
It comes as Donald Trump last night hinted at regime change in Iran after unleashing US military might on nuclear sites on Sunday.
The US president said: “If the current Iranian regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be regime change? MIGA!”.
Pahlavi, 64, left Iran in 1979 after the Islamic Revolution saw his father toppled from power.
He has spent most of his time living in the US with his wife and three daughters – and is a leading voice in the call for regime change in Iran.
It comes as Iran has vowed revenge after Trump blitzed critical nuclear sites after a week of trading blows with Israel.
Trump hailed Operation Midnight Hammer as a “bullseye” that caused “monumental damage” to Iran’s doomsday plot.
Conflict in the Middle East now sits on a knife edge as it threatens to spiral and draw in other countries.
The bloodthirsty Iranian regime has today deployed a fresh barrage of missiles against Israel as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei continues to cower in hiding.
Israel launched a fresh round of missile strikes on Iran’s Fordow nuclear site – blowing up access roads to the uranium plant.
Significant damage has likely been caused to the plant and the sensitive machinery it houses by the US’ bombing, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.
Where could the Ayatollah hide?
By Henry Holloway, Deputy Foreign Editor
IRAN’S supreme leader has scurried away to an underground bunker in a Tehran suburb amid threats to his life.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is believed to be cowering away in the secret lair as Israeli missile attacks rain down nearby.
But where could he go if he flees?
Iran’s list of allies in limited – and the most likely contender for a bolthole would likely be provided by Russia.
Vladimir Putin offered his deposed pal Bashar al-Assad an exit route when the Syrian regime collapsed in 2024.
He is now believed to be living out his days with his family quietly in Moscow.
And if the Ayatollah decides his future is untenable, the Russian route could be open.
Putin had been keeping Iran at an arms length – but after a chummy meeting in Moscow little over 24 hours after Trump’s strikes it seems their relationship could be rekindled.
Iran and Russia also signed a “partnership” agreement back in January to draw close ties between the two nations.
Another contender for an exit could be North Korea – as the isolated state is believed to have helped Iran develop its missiles.
Iran claimed to have moved much of the nuclear material away from the site before the strikes.
In bombing access routes, Israel could have made it more difficult to return anything that was removed.
Iran is now desperately trying to recruit its allies and the supreme leader has sent his foreign minister to Moscow.
In a televised meeting, Vlad slammed Trump’s airstrikes as “unprovoked aggression” and said he was helping Iran.
The Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi was also set to deliver a letter from the supreme leader, sources said.
It comes as Vlad’s man at the UN has warned that America has opened “Pandora’s box” and that “no one knows what new catastrophes and suffering it will bring”.
And elsewhere, the IDF targeted Iran’s “Destruction of Israel” clock in this morning’s strikes, according to Defence Minister Israel Katz.
The clock was erected in Palestine Square in Tehran in 2017, and supposedly counts down to the elimination of Israel – one of the regime’s official goals – by 2040.
Katz listed the clock amongst various other targets responsible for “maintaining the regime’s stability” as momentum towards regime change picks up.
Who was the Shah?
By Annabel Bate, Foreign News Reporter
THE last Shah of Iran was Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
He ruled from 1941 to 1979, having succeeded his dad Reza Shah.
Mohammad Reza had a pro-Western foreign policy and encouraged economic development in the nation.
What led to his downfall initially however was 1963 The White Revolution – a series of social, political and economic reforms that Mohammad Reza initiated.
This looked to both modernise and westernise Iran.
But the reforms were perceived as controversial and led to some resistance from various religious and political factions.
On February 11, 1979, Iran’s army declared its neutrality, paving the way for the fall of US-backed Shah Mohammad Reza.
He died in exile in Egypt in 1980.
