Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of Iran’s ousted former Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, speaks during a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on January 16, 2026. The son of Iran’s late shah said Friday he was confident the Islamic republic would fall in the face of mass protests and called for intervention. Pahlavi has lived in exile in the United States since the 1979 Islamic revolution toppled his pro-Western father. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)
The son of Iran’s late shah on Saturday hailed the reported killing of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying the Islamic republic that replaced his pro-Western father was finished.
“With his death, the Islamic Republic has effectively come to an end and will soon be consigned to the dustbin of history,” Reza Pahlavi wrote on X.
He warned against appointing a successor and called on security forces to join in a transition.
“To the military, security and police forces — any effort to prop up a collapsing regime is doomed to defeat,” he said.
Pahlavi, who has presented himself as a transitional figure but does not enjoy support from all the opposition, called on Iranians to “stay vigilant” for now.
“The time for a massive and decisive presence in the streets is very near,” he said.
“Together, united and steadfast, we will secure the final victory, and we will celebrate Iran’s freedom across our homeland created by Ahura,” he said, invoking Iran’s pre-Islamic Zoroastrian heritage.
AFP
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