Son of Iran’s last shah appeals for more pressure to help protesters

By Humeyra Pamuk

WASHINGTON, Jan 16 (Reuters) – Iranian opposition figure Reza Pahlavi on Friday urged the international community to ramp up pressure on the government in Tehran to help protesters overthrow clerical rule, even as a deadly crackdown appears to have broadly quelled demonstrations.

Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s toppled shah, said in a press conference that “large sections” of the Iranian army and security forces have “whispered” their loyalty to him and that he is uniquely positioned to ensure a stable transition for the country. “I will return to Iran,” he said, without setting a timeline for his return.

It is difficult to gauge support for Pahlavi on the ground in Iran due to a media and internet blackout.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to intervene in support of protesters in Iran, this week expressed uncertainty over Pahlavi’s ability to muster support within the country. Pahlavi met White House envoy Steve Witkoff last weekend, Axios reported, citing an unidentified senior U.S. official.

‘SENSITIVE TIME’: PAHLAVI

Asked about his discussions with U.S. officials, Pahlavi declined to give details, saying it was a “sensitive time.” “I believe that President Trump is a man of his word and, ultimately, he will stand with the Iranian people,” he said, adding that it was “never too late” for the U.S. to help. “We will fight until we win.”

Ahead of his remarks, videos played at the press conference showed people injured apparently by Iranian security forces and other scenes from the protests, including demonstrators chanting “Long Live the Shah.” That chant has been heard at the protests, alongside other chants calling for the fall of the Islamic Republic that do not mention the Shah. 

“The Iranian people are taking decisive action on the ground. It is now time for the international community to join them fully,” Pahlavi said.

Pahlavi said countries should target the leadership and command and control structure of Iran’s elite military force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, block the assets of the clerical rulers and expel the government’s diplomats from world capitals. He also called on the world to help break through the government’s communications blockade by deploying Starlink satellite internet systems.

Pahlavi said a secure communication channel had been set up for people who want to defect from the government or its security forces, saying that tens of thousands of people have made contact, but he did not address how he planned to exert control over the vast network of Iran’s security establishment apparatus, including the Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Helping the protesters to succeed “does not require putting (foreign) boots on the ground,” Pahlavi said. “The Iranian people’s boots are already on the ground. They are the ones marching, sacrificing and fighting for their freedom every single day.”

A democratic Iran under his leadership would have “cordial relations” with its neighbors, he said, including Israel – a close ally of Iran in his father’s day and an implacable foe of the Islamic Republic now. Pahlavi in 2023 visited Israel and met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials.

U.S.-based Pahlavi, 65, has lived outside Iran since before his father was toppled in the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran’s opposition is fragmented among rival groups and ideological factions – including the monarchists who back Pahlavi – and appears to have little organized presence inside the Islamic Republic.

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; writing by Simon Lewis; Editing by Sharon Singleton, Rod Nickel and Hugh Lawson)