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Exiled Iranian crown prince Reza Pahlavi unveiled Friday a 6-step plan to exert pressure on the regime, which he declared “will fall, not if, but when.”
“My brave compatriots still holding the line with their broken bodies but unbreakable will, need your urgent help right now. Make no mistake, however, the Islamic Republic is close to collapse,” Pahlavi declared.
“Ali Khamenei and his thugs know this. That’s why they are lashing out like a wounded animal, desperate to cling to power,” he continued. “The people have not retreated. Their determination has made one thing clear. They are not merely rejecting this regime. They are demanding a credible new path forward. They have called for 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 degrading the regime’s repressive capacity, including targeting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard leadership and its command-and-control infrastructure.”
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Exiled Iranian crown prince Reza Pahlavi speaks during a news conference on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)
“Second, deliver and sustain maximum economic pressure on the regime, block their assets worldwide, target and dismantle their fleet of ghost [oil] tankers,” he said.
“Third, break through the regime’s information blockade by enabling unrestricted internet access. Deploy Starlink and other secure communications tools widely across 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. Six, prepare for a democratic transition in Iran by committing to recognize a legitimate transitional government when the moment comes,” he concluded.
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Iranian demonstrators gather in a street during a protest over the collapse of the currency’s value, in Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 8, 2026. (Stringer/WANA/Reuters)
Pahlavi’s remarks came as President Donald Trump seemed to remain ambivalent about the possibility of Pahlavi taking over the country if the Islamic regime were to fall.
“He seems very nice, but I don’t know how he’d play within his own country,” Trump told Reuters during an interview on Wednesday. “And we really aren’t up to that point yet.
“I don’t know whether or not his country would accept his leadership, and certainly if they would, that would be fine with me,” he added.
When Pahlavi was asked Friday by a reporter about how he plans to win Trump over, he said, “President Trump has said that it’s up to the Iranian people to decide, and I totally agree.”
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’ve always said it’s for the Iranian people to decide. And I think the Iranian people have already demonstrated in great numbers who it is that they want them to lead to this transition,” he added. “So I’m confident that I have the support of my compatriot. And as for the international leaders to assess the fact on the ground and see who is capable of doing that. I believe I can and I have the Iranian people’s support.”
Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.