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Posted on 03/20/2026 8:33:23 AM PDT by MeanWestTexan
Exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi said the Islamic Republic’s weakening grip on internal repression is bringing closer the moment when Iranians could once again take control of the streets.
He said in an interview with Iran International aired on Monday that a final call for nationwide demonstrations to end the Islamic Republic would come once the authorities’ coercive apparatus had been sufficiently weakened.
“I think all of us, after 47 years of dealing with this criminal government, are counting the days until this system finally disappears,” Pahlavi said in the interview with Morad Vaisi.
“We want to reach the day after its collapse, when the people of Iran can achieve what they truly deserve: complete freedom and an opportunity to rebuild and prosper.”
Many Iranians, Pahlavi added, are hoping that moment will arrive soon but argued that strategy and timing remain critical.
“Conditions must also be taken into account,” Pahlavi said. “As everyone has seen, this government has no hesitation in suppressing people. It is prepared to see hundreds of thousands killed if that means staying in power. Therefore the movement must proceed intelligently. The final call will be issued at the right moment.”
Opposition strategy focuses on weakening security forces
Pahlavi argued that recent developments had already eroded the Islamic Republic’s ability to rely on its security institutions.
The weakening of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and the Basij militia, he said, was central to opposition strategy, describing foreign military pressure and domestic activism as factors that had shifted the balance.
“This campaign delivered a very heavy blow to the structures of repression in the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij,” Pahlavi said.
Beyond external pressure, he talked about what he described as covert organizing inside the country, including activities by a network he called the “Immortal Guard.”
The network, according to Pahlavi, operates inside Iran and carries out coordinated actions intended to undermine the state’s coercive institutions.
“Groups inside the country, members of the Immortal Guard, through organization and coordinated work, have the ability to deliver further blows from within,” Pahlavi said. “Many of the developments we have seen in the country did not occur spontaneously but were the result of organized work.”
He described the network as emerging from within society and said its activities were aimed at protecting civilians while targeting institutions used for repression.
“The Immortal Guard is born from the people themselves,” Pahlavi said. “At this stage it plays a defensive role, helping protect people’s lives and striking institutions that the authorities use to spread fear and violence.”
Appeal to security forces
Pahlavi also used the interview to address members of Iran’s armed forces and police, urging them to distance themselves from the authorities.
“You still have the opportunity to join the people and separate yourselves from the system and its repressive forces,” Pahlavi said. “You can be part of the solution for the future of the country.”
He warned that those who continue to support the government could face accountability if political change occurs.
“Those who choose to remain defenders and guarantors of this system’s survival will have to answer to the people tomorrow,” Pahlavi said.
At the same time, he sought to reassure members of the military establishment that a future political transition would not necessarily exclude them.
“I come from a military family and I myself was a pilot,” Pahlavi said. “I understand the value of those who defend their country. Whether in the army, the police, or the gendarmerie, we need these individuals to maintain the security of the nation.”
Pahlavi said that anyone not involved in violence against civilians should be able to play a role in the future political system.
“As long as someone’s hands are not stained with the blood of the people, there is no reason they cannot serve in the future of the country,” he added.
Plans for transition after collapse
Pahlavi also described planning efforts for a transitional period following the fall of the Islamic Republic, referring to an initiative known as the “Prosperity Project.”
The effort, he said, involves specialists across various fields preparing proposals for how the country could be governed immediately after a political transition.
“The purpose of the Prosperity Project is to ensure that beyond political activists, professionals and experts are also planning for the future,” Pahlavi said.
He cited areas such as the judiciary, economic policy, health care, and education as subjects under discussion.
“For example, legal experts can explain how justice should be implemented during the transition and how officials of the current system should be handled,” he said. “Economists can outline how to rebuild the economy and attract investment.”
Pahlavi said existing state institutions and civil servants would likely continue operating temporarily to prevent administrative breakdown.
“During an emergency transition period, the country will need to be run by the existing institutions and ministries,” Pahlavi said. “These employees must continue their work until we reach the stage where the future political system is determined.”
The long-term political structure, he said, would ultimately be decided by a constituent assembly and national referendum.
Return to Iran
The exiled prince also said he intends to return to Iran as soon as circumstances permit, even if the Islamic Republic still formally holds power.
“I do not know where the first liberated area will be and it may not necessarily be Tehran,” Pahlavi added. “But as soon as conditions allow, I would prefer to be inside Iran among my compatriots.”
He suggested that his presence inside the country could accelerate defections from state institutions.
My presence in Iran could encourage faster defections among the forces of the Islamic Republic and help them join the people,” Pahlavi said. “I am ready to accept all necessary and calculated risks in order to return to my country.”
National identity and protest movement
Throughout the interview, Pahlavi framed the opposition movement as a national project rooted in Iranian cultural identity.
He argued that the country’s traditions and historical symbols had played an important role in sustaining resistance to the authorities.
“This uprising is a national movement built around our Iranian identity,” Pahlavi said. “From the first days, the Islamic Republic confronted cultural traditions such as Nowruz and Chaharshanbe Suri (fire festival) because Iran itself was not their priority.”
Despite acknowledging the risks involved in confronting the state, Pahlavi said he believes the authorities will ultimately fail to maintain control.
“I have no doubt that this system will eventually disappear and the people will prevail,” Pahlavi said. “The important thing is that we continue our movement according to the calls that are issued and remain committed to rebuilding the country.”
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In other words, once the heavy lifting is done, he'll be Johnny on the spot.
What do you propose he do? He’s an old guy.
Had Carter and Obama not been such pussies, this would have been done decades ago.
EC
My guess is that the public executions take a lot of wind out of the sail of the protesters.
Why would he want to leave his California mansion to return to a bombed-out crap hole and worry about being shot every day?
Going to be alot of crying Dems soon. A few FReepers too. USA, USA, USA!!!
“My guess is that the public executions take a lot of wind out of the sail of the protesters.”
The constant blowing up of IRGC and Basij checkpoints in Tehran seems to have done a fair amount of morale busting of the persecutors.
The Iranians are sending in constant targeting tips.
The hunters are rapidly becoming the hunted.
Let’s hope positive reports are accurate. This action will only be approved for a limited time. There will still be a lot of crazies there who don’t work for the government.
Let’s hope positive reports are accurate. This action will only be approved for a limited time. There will still be a lot of crazies there who don’t work for the government.
I don’t think his presence is going to be as welcomed as he thinks. His family fled with billions in wealth looted from the Iranian people when they left, and now he wants to ride in on a horse after the blood shed in triumph? The time to rise up is now, there is strength in numbers.
Well, If he doesn't want power over there he should go away and keep his mouth closed and keep doing whatever it is ex-princes do. If he does want power, then he should make his way over to Iran and get busy with regime change.
The upside for a free Iran is tremendous, and I look forward to seeing a change.
I’m not sure he could be doing more at this point. Could he actually be in Iran? Probably not. And neither the US nor Israel would want to smuggle him in at this point anyway. Could he go to a Gulf State or Saudi Arabia? Probably not. They probably don’t want him there. There is an expat community who supports him. He probably has support in Iran. But the reports in Western media of the support for him in Iran are overblown. The idea that Iranians want him to take over are probably a fantasy of the Western expat community. He has a role but its very limited.
I think that's exactly right. And if he wants the Mullahs gone, the best thing he could do is just go away. Or, failing that, issue some boiler plate that he supports democracy in Iran.
Can we give the Resistance say 10,000 sniper rifles plus ammo?
Hussain Obama flew pallets of cash in for mad mullah nukes. The least we should be able to do is pallets of of small arms, chambered for the same rounds the regime is murdering it’s own people with.
I don’t think anybody expects him to pick up an AK and storm the Basij. 🙄
“Can we give the Resistance say 10,000 sniper rifles plus ammo?”
I would think pistols and grenades might be better, but rifles are good, too.
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