Exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi on Friday unveiled a six-step plan to put pressure on the regime, which he said “will fall, not if, but when.”
“My brave compatriots, still standing on the line with their broken bodies but an unbreakable will, now urgently need your help. Make no mistake, the Islamic Republic is on the verge of collapse,” Pahlavi declared.
“Ali Khamenei and his thugs know this. That is why they are lashing out like a wounded animal, desperate to stay in power,” he continued. “The people have not retreated. Their determination has made one thing clear. They are not just rejecting this regime. They are demanding a credible new path forward. They have called on me to lead.”
Pahlavi said he has a comprehensive plan for an orderly transition and asked the international community to do six things, starting with protecting the Iranian people “by downgrading the regime’s repressive capabilities, including attacking the leadership of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its command and control infrastructure.”
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Exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi speaks during a press conference on Friday, January 16, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)
“Second, apply and sustain maximum economic pressure on the regime, block their assets worldwide, attack and dismantle their fleet of ghosts. [oil] tankers,” he said.
“Third, break the regime’s information blockade by enabling unrestricted Internet access. Deploy Starlink and other secure communications tools throughout Iran and conduct cyber operations to disable the regime’s ability to shut down the Internet. Fourth, hold the regime accountable by expelling its diplomats from your capitals and pursue legal enforcement actions against those responsible for crimes against humanity,” Pahlavi continued.
“Fifth, demand the immediate release of all political prisoners. Sixth, prepare for a democratic transition in Iran by committing to recognize a legitimate transitional government when the time comes,” he concluded.
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Iranian demonstrators gather in a street during a protest against the collapse of the currency’s value, in Tehran, Iran, on January 8, 2026. (Stringer/WANA/Reuters)
Pahlavi’s comments came as President Donald Trump appeared to remain ambivalent about the possibility of Pahlavi taking over the country if the Islamic regime fell.
“He seems very nice, but I don’t know how he would play domestically,” Trump said during an interview with Reuters on Wednesday. ‘And we’re not there yet.
“I don’t know whether or not his country would accept his leadership, and certainly if they did, I would be fine with that,” he added.
When asked by a reporter on Friday how he plans to win over Trump, Pahlavi said: “President Trump has said it is up to the Iranian people to decide, and I completely agree with that.”
President Donald Trump has yet to give exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi the green light to lead if the regime in Iran falls. (Joel Saget/AFP via Getty Images)
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“I have always said that it is up to the Iranian people to decide. And I think the Iranian people have already shown in large numbers who they want to lead to this transition,” he added. “So I am confident that I have the support of my compatriot. And as for the international leaders to assess the facts on the ground and see who is capable of doing that. I believe I can do that, and I have the support of the Iranian people.”
