Exiled Iranian crown prince says regime is 'crumbling' after killing of Khamenei, other leaders
· Fox News
Exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi said Saturday that the Islamic Republic is "crumbling" and that Iranians are ready to reclaim their country one week after U.S. and Israeli military operations rocked the regime.
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The operations, which began last weekend, resulted in the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and nearly 50 other regime figures, creating what Pahlavi described as a pivotal moment for change.
"The situation on the ground is the fact that people obviously were waiting for an opportunity to get back to the streets to take their country back. We see more and more elements of the regime crumbling. A lot of people at home are ready to step in and this is exactly what will be required for a successful and stable transition," he said during a Fox News appearance on "My View" with Lara Trump.
Following the supreme leader’s death, Pahlavi said the Iranian people will not accept any outcome tied to the current regime.
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"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, the son of the late Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, has called for a transition of power from theocracy to democracy and said he would help guide that transition, facilitated by a coalition of forces, including people inside Iran and members of the country’s military.
"The transition involves leaving the people of Iran with that choice, and only the ballot box should determine the outcome and who would be, in the future, responsible for our country," he said. "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."
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When asked whether other forms of government were possible, Pahlavi said Iranians would not settle for "anything less than a democratic outcome."
"I don't see any formula outside democracy that will be lasting, tenable, or acceptable. The only way that people will accept the outcome is to make sure that they are in charge of their own destiny," he said. "And I don't think there's any other way than a democratic system that can guarantee that. That's a recipe for stability, long-term progress, a guarantee of protecting all the citizens of all of their rights."
Pahlavi argued that a democratic Iran would bring greater regional stability and open significant economic opportunities for the United States.
He said the Iranian market has been closed off for nearly half a century, adding that the U.S. economy could see more than $1 trillion in revenue over the first decade of new Iranian leadership.
"As a democracy, Iranians will be committed to establish an element of cordial relationship with our neighbors, bring peace to the area, bring an element stability, which ultimately is conducive to development, prosperity, something that would be good for us, but it will also be good, for our partners," he said. "I think America has a lot to gain as a result. And don't forget that after the dust settles and we achieve that future, then Iran is open for economic opportunities."
Pahlavi has lived in exile since the 1979 Islamic Revolution toppled Iran’s monarchy and established the Islamic Republic. In recent years, he has sought to position himself as a unifying opposition figure.