'Game Changer We've Been Waiting For All This Time': Exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi On US-Israel Strikes On Iran

Washington: The US-Israel joint military strikes on Iran that led to the death of the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei mark "the beginning of the very end of the regime," according to Exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, asserting that the developments could pave the way for the Iranian people to reclaim their country. Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah overthrown during the 1979 Islamic Revolution, claimed that he is taking charge of the transition to a new government.

In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, Pahlavi described the US action against the Islamic Republic as a "game changer", claiming that many Iranians, both within the country and in the diaspora, have welcomed the move.

"There's no question that this is the game changer we've been waiting for all this time. The jubilation of Iranians at home and abroad shows how much people were hoping for this moment," he said on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures. 

Pahlavi argued that the latest strikes go beyond previous interventions, which were primarily aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear programme, noting that the current developments could significantly weaken the ruling establishment and accelerate its collapse. “This campaign is this time something not just to set back the Iranian nuclear program. This is like full decapitation of the regime and ultimately what will expedite this total collapse," Pahlavi said.

"We are so elated by the fact that now we have the beginning of the very end of the regime, because at least we are going to see more and more decimation of this regime, which can only equal the playing field so that the Iranian people could come back to the streets and claim their country back from this hated regime," the exiled Prince added.

"The Iranian people have suffered too much to settle for anything less than that," he told Fox News. Pahlavi further stated that he is preparing for a potential political transition in Iran, envisioning a shift from the existing theocratic system to a democratic framework and stated that he is willing to lead a transitional process supported by a broad coalition of Iranians, including activists within the country and members of the military.

"I've been working with a number of Iranians from across the spectrum that are united in this on this purpose. We have the most diverse coalition of people dedicated to that process, representing different parts of the country, including religious minorities, ethnic groups that are all aligned in this national project that we have," he added.

He further said that his transition plan process would lead ultimately “to a democratic outcome so the Iranian people get to choose their future government and system.”

Asked how long his transitional leadership would be, he said it would take years. "To be realistic from the time that we start until the day we can have the final referendum, I anticipate a period that should be longer than a couple of years at the most. But what’s critical is the first 100 days," he said.

However, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a prerecorded message that a new leadership council had begun its work. The country's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said a new supreme leader would be chosen in “one or two days.”

Pahlavi's remarks come as the US and Israel pounded targets across Iran on Sunday, dropping massive bombs on Iran's ballistic missile sites and wiping out warships as part of an intensifying military campaign following the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his family on Sunday.

More than 200 people have been killed since the start of the strikes that killed Khamenei and other senior leaders, Iranian leaders said.

Following the strikes, Iran launched a wave of strikes, using drones and missiles targeting multiple Arab countries in the region, as a retaliatory action by the Islamic Republic. 

(With ANI, AP inputs)

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