First on FOX -such as the wise of the WE and Israeli air strikes on Iran, are giving way to a historic ceasefires, the opposition figures with renewed urgency -the United States call on to support regime change led by the Iranian people.
One of the most prominent voices is that of the exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi, the oldest son of the late Shah of Iran, who has long argued for a secular and democratic alternative to the Islamic Republic.
Pahlavi was born in Tehran in 1960 and was officially called Crown Prince during the coronation of his father in 1967. In 1978, at the age of 17 -he left Iran for military training at the Air Force of the United States in Texas. Months later, his family was forced into exile after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, and the monarchy was replaced by an Islamic theocratic regime that has since ruled Iran.
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Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s overshadded Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, speaks during a press conference on Monday, June 23, 2025 in Paris. (Thomas Padilla/AP photo)
Reza Pahlavi: President Trump is looking for peace in the middle and an end of chaos. He wants to keep American troops safe and eventually bring them home. I want exactly the same. But the current regime in Iran does not want this. It thrives on chaos and bloodshed. So true peace can only happen if the Islamic Republic has disappeared.
President Donald Trump speaks during a media conference at the end of NATO top in The Hague, the Netherlands, on Wednesday 25 June 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
So my message to President Trump is this: the way to end the chaos and destruction is to help the population of Iran to end this regime and to take back their country. He can leave a permanent inheritance and be one of the great peacemakers of history if this happens. I am ready to be his partner in this process and to lead this mission and our nation in a peaceful, democratic future that is again in accordance with regional stability and American interests. Working with President Trump, we can bring down the most dangerous regime in the world – and not fill the emptiness with chaos, but with strength, order and freedom.
Iranian worshipers prayed under a banner with a gigantic portrait of the Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a ceremony that murdered Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, commemorates in the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque in Tehran, Iran, on August 9, 2024. (Morteza Nikoubazl/Nurphoto via Getty images)
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FND: You stated: “A broad coalition of Iranians” is already working on building a future after the regime. Who are the most important players in that coalition, and how do they coordinate inside and outside the country?
RP: This coalition includes sectors and ideologies – formator officials, dissidents, technocrats, activists, leaders of women’s rights, employees, students and members of the Diaspora. Within Iran they organize resistance and prepare for a democratic transition. Outside we build the institutional basis for the day after: from transitional law to economic recovery. The most important thing is to ensure that chaos does not follow and we can guarantee a peaceful transition. What unites us is not a political party, but a single goal – freeing Iran from tyranny and rebuilding as a sovereign, democratic nation.
People light a fire during a protest about the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after he was arrested on September 21, 2022 by the ‘morality police’ of the Islamic Republic, in Tehran, Iran. (West -Asia press agency)
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FND: You emphasize that the Iranian military and security forces must go over and join people. Have you had contact with current or former elements of the armed forces, and do you see signs that that happens?
RP: Yes – powerful, but clear. I have had conversations with both former and current members of the armed forces. Many of them love their country, but despise what the regime has made it. We see growing cracks – hesitation to follow orders, defects and signs of passive resistance. In recent days I have launched a formal channel for this communication to increase. My message to them is simple: history is now being written. Stand with your nation, not the criminals. You will be reminded of your choice.
Iranian opposition leader and son of the last Shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, holds a press conference in Paris on 23 June 2025. (Joel Saget/AFP via Getty images)
FND: What is your opinion about the American and Israeli air campaign in Iran that has shaken the basis of the military infrastructure of Iran in Iran?
RP: I was proud to wear the uniform of my country and I flew many of these fighter jets. To see the state of decay and shame, the Islamic Republic has dragged our forces deeply into pain. The members of the armed forces that I speak to share this pain. They hate to see that our proud army once abused our people at home and sowing chaos and terror abroad. The new Iran that I am looking will have a once-members proud forces who defend our nation and help establish peace and stability in the Middle East.
FND: You have been criticized – also by the Iranian dissident -leader Maryam Rajavi – because they are reportedly tried to restore the monarchy and not to restore broad support among Iranians. What do you say to those who claim that you do not have a legitimate mandate and have no contact with the people in Iran?
RP: Maryam Rajavi leads a radical cult that combines Marxist and Islamic ideologies – a group that killed American soldiers and is completely rejected by Iranians. I do not respond to attacks by terrorists, especially those who have no support on the ground.
Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Kamanei. (Press office of the Iranian leader – Handout/Anadolu Agency/Getty images)
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I am focused on leading this movement and this change, I do not argue for a certain form of government. Iranians will choose their future form of government in free and honest elections and everyone who wants to deny them, this right is not part of the democratic opposition.
My mandate is the confidence of my countrymen who sing my name, not because I ask for it, but because I have stepped forward to serve them and not myself. When Iran is free, people – no clouds or clergymen – will determine our future in a national referendum.
