‘You Cannot Have It Both Ways’: Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi Urges US to Back Regime Change in Iran

Exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi has issued a strong call to the United States, urging a decisive shift away from appeasement and towards unequivocal support for regime change in Iran. Speaking at the POLITICO Security Summit in Washington D.C., Pahlavi articulated a perspective deeply critical of decades of Western engagement with the Islamic Republic, arguing that such policies have not only failed to foster reform but have actively emboldened the regime and expanded its destabilizing influence across the region.

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Appeasement has failed. 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's central argument is that the Islamic Republic is "inherently incapable" of genuine reform or peaceful coexistence with the democratic world. He pointed to the regime's extensive network of proxies, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, and warned of "networks and sleeper cells operating on European and Western Hemisphere soil, including the United States." This view, shared by many in the Iranian diaspora and opposition, frames the conflict not merely as a regional issue but as a global threat emanating from Tehran, a perspective often amplified by publications like The Jerusalem Post that focus on Iran's security implications.

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It’s not just about Hamas or Hezbollah or the Houthis. They have networks and sleeper cells operating on European and Western Hemisphere soil, including the United States.

Crucially, Pahlavi emphasized that the true power within Iran lies with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which he stated "controls everything ultimately." He dismissed the idea of direct U.S. military intervention, asserting that the force for change must come from within Iran. "The boots on the ground in Iran are the Iranian people themselves," he declared, underscoring the need for external powers to provide support and protection to enable an internal uprising. This echoes a long-held desire among many Iranians for international solidarity with their struggle for freedom, a sentiment that resonates differently within Iran compared to Western capitals where the focus might be on stability or nuclear non-proliferation.

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The regime has been weakened, but it’s the radical elements that are the most in charge. It’s the IRGC that controls everything ultimately.

From the perspective of Iranian opposition figures and their supporters, Pahlavi's message represents a clear-eyed assessment of the Iranian regime's nature and a pragmatic call for action. It challenges the prevailing Western approach, which has often been characterized by cautious diplomacy and a hope for gradual change. Pahlavi's stance, however, is that such hopes are misplaced and that a decisive break with the past is necessary to address the fundamental threat posed by the Islamic Republic. His words at the summit aim to galvanize U.S. policy, advocating for a strategy that empowers the Iranian people to reclaim their nation.

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The boots on the ground in Iran are the Iranian people themselves.