Reza Pahlavi, son of Iran’s last shah, criticized President Donald Trump‘s handling of the Iran war and called on the president to overthrow Tehran’s Islamist regime.
Pahlavi voiced his concerns during an interview at POLITICO’s Security Summit on Tuesday. He suggested that Trump’s “mixed signals”, such as agreeing to a ceasefire and talks with Tehran, could inadvertently strengthen the regime.
Despite generally supporting Trump, Pahlavi urged the U.S. and Israel to persist with airstrikes and other attacks on Iranian targets. He believes this strategy would encourage Iranian citizens to act as ground troops in the effort to topple the regime.
“Now that you have a wounded beast, this is not an opportunity that you should let go to finish the job and get it over with,” he said.
Pahlavi doesn’t believe the Iranian regime could be reasoned with or persuaded to change its behavior. He rejected the notion of giving diplomacy a chance, asserting, “we know by now that in its DNA, [the regime] is incapable of coming to terms with coexistence with a free democratic [society].”
Addressing Trump’s threats to attack Iranian civilian infrastructure, Pahlavi stated that such threats, even if a “negotiating tactic”, were unhelpful and only served to confuse the Iranian people.
Exiled Prince Eyes Future
Pahlavi was Iran’s crown prince before the 1979 revolution overthrew his father, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
Reza Pahlavi was still a teenager and in the U.S. when the monarchy collapsed, and he has lived in exile ever since, spending much of his adult life around Washington, D.C. In recent times, the exiled crown prince has positioned himself as a leading figure in Iran’s democratic opposition movement.
Despite expressing doubts about Pahlavi’s ability to lead Iran, Trump said he would support him if the Iranian people chose him. In a January interview with Reuters before the Iran war, Trump described Pahlavi as “very nice” but questioned whether Iranians would accept his leadership. Meanwhile, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) also met with Pahlavi and voiced support for the Iranian people.
Trump To Restart Iran Strikes?
Meanwhile, the Pentagon is reportedly considering renaming its conflict with Iran from “Operation Epic Fury” to “Operation Sledgehammer” if the ceasefire collapses and Trump resumes major military action. According to NBC News, the change could reset the timeline for congressional war authorization.
On Sunday, Trump rejected Iran’s response to a U.S.-backed peace proposal as “totally unacceptable” and described the fragile month-long ceasefire as being on “massive life support” and “unbelievably weak”.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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