Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi called on the United States to abandon attempts to negotiate with the Islamic Republic and instead fully support regime change on Tuesday, arguing that Tehran is incapable of reform and that the current moment presents a historic opportunity to topple the regime.
Speaking at the POLITICO Security Summit in Washington DC, Pahlavi said Western governments had spent years pursuing a failed strategy of appeasement that ultimately emboldened Tehran and strengthened its regional proxy network.
“Appeasement has failed,” Pahlavi told host Dasha Burns. “The regime was to some extent emboldened. Previous administrations allowed the regime to have access to billions of dollars that they obviously did not spend on the people of Iran and their needs, but to further strengthen their proxies.”
Pahlavi argued that the Islamic Republic was “inherently incapable” of coexistence with the democratic world and warned that its activities extend far beyond the Middle East.
“It’s not just about Hamas or Hezbollah or the Houthis,” he said. “They have networks and sleeper cells operating on European and Western Hemisphere soil, including the United States” - something recently documented in a report by the National Union for Democracy in Iran.
The royal also repeatedly stressed that he believes negotiations with Tehran will fail because the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) effectively controls the country.
“The regime has been weakened, but it’s the radical elements that are the most in charge,” he said. “It’s the IRGC that controls everything ultimately.”
Asked whether he supported US boots on the ground in Iran, Pahlavi rejected the idea, saying “the boots on the ground in Iran are the Iranian people themselves.” However, he argued that outside powers must continue to provide support and protection to enable Iranians to rise up against the regime.
Over the course of two days in January, some 40,000 Iranian protesters were likely killed by the regime, although the total number is difficult to verify due to stringent restrictions placed on the internet in the country. Since US and Israeli military action began against Iran on February 28, a renewed internet blackout has left the country over 70 days without internet, leaving many in the diaspora to wonder about the fate of their friends and family.
On stage, Pahlavi also criticized what he described as mixed messaging from Washington, saying the US administration could not simultaneously encourage popular resistance while pursuing negotiations with Tehran.
“You cannot have it both ways,” he told those gathered. “You cannot say, ‘people, we’ll keep you on ice, and we’ll tell you when we’re ready. In the meantime, we are attempting to figure out something else.’”
“If you’re really serious about it, people have already proven that they’re willing to sacrifice their lives for their liberation,” he added. “They just hope that this time they’re not alone, that they’re not going to be thrown under the bus yet again.”
The strikes against Iran were part of a 'liberation campaign,' not an attack against Iranians
Throughout the discussion, Pahlavi strove to highlight that the Israeli and American strikes against Iranian targets were part of what he called a “liberation campaign” rather than an attack on the Iranian nation itself.
“The campaign that was led both by the Israelis and the Americans was to that extent successful, to at least hurt the regime and diminish its capability to counteract against the people,” he said.
“The narrative is controlled completely by the regime,” he said. “The majority of Iranian people look at this as a liberation campaign.”
Pahlavi also commented that Tehran was attempting to “ride the storm” in the hope that political leadership changes in Israel and the United States would ease pressure on the regime, with leaders in Iran “trying to buy time so there’s no longer a Bibi Netanyahu in Jerusalem or a Donald Trump in the White House.”
Pahlavi also said his movement was planning for what he described as a “smooth and stable transition” toward a secular democratic system, which has been well documented in the Iran Prosperity Project, including efforts to encourage defections from the regime’s military and security apparatus. He claimed thousands of people within Iran’s system had already made contact with his network but were waiting for clearer signals from the international community before openly defecting.
He also dismissed criticism over his legitimacy and exile from Iran, saying millions of Iranians continued to support him despite nearly five decades outside the country.
“I don’t think it is for any foreign government to designate who and what should be the alternative,” the exiled royal stated. “It should be for the Iranian people to decide that.”