Every successful revolution needs a leader, someone that the movement can rally around, a unifying figure, someone to stand at the tip of the spear, so to speak. Iran actually has such a leader: The son of the late, deposed Shah, Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi. He has been actively speaking and working towards his vision of a new, modern, democratic Iran for years; at last spring's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) the Crown Prince spoke to the assembled visitors and media and absolutely brought the house down.
Now, Reza Pahlavi appears to be seeing an end to the theocratic Islamic Republic that has infested Iran since 1979. On Tuesday, he released a lengthy statement on X, directed at the Iranian people, and some of the statements he is making are remarkable — and some of them are signs that he may very well see the curtain come down on the mullahs, for good.
It's a remarkable and powerful statement. He begins:
Noble and Brave Nation of Iran,
The Islamic Republic today is no longer the regime that ruled Iran one year ago. This regime is now weaker than ever before, and its missing leader and other ringleaders fear nothing more than the power of the Iranian people; they fear a nationwide and effective uprising that would end the life of this satanic regime.
This criminal sect and its terrorist IRGC have dragged our beloved homeland into war and endangered Iran's very existence. The IRGC's domination over the pillars of the country and the plundering of national resources are the primary causes of the worsening economic and security situation in Iran.
These scoundrels have left the people with neither bread, nor security, nor hope for the future. To preserve their power, they are willing to sacrifice Iran and the Iranian people.
All this is accurate, right down to the "criminal sect" and "terrorist" parts. Iran, since 1979, has been far and away the world's leading state sponsor of Islamic terrorism. The theocracy is responsible for tens of thousands, probably hundreds of thousands, of deaths, around the region, and around the world. They have brutally repressed their own citizens. They have squashed any dissent with rifle bullets.
But their time may now be at hand. Here's where things get interesting.
We have plans both for overthrowing the Islamic Republic and for governing Iran afterward; a clear plan aimed at preserving the country's security and stability during the transition period, guaranteeing the people's fundamental freedoms, and meeting the essential needs of citizens.
To the military, law enforcement, and security forces: Join the nation and stand with the people on the day of Iran's liberation to receive amnesty. But if you remain alongside the oppressors and participate in crimes against the people, you will be held accountable before the law and justice.
This time, I invite not only the military and government forces, but all Iranians from all walks of life who are fed up with this regime and seek a free and prosperous future for Iran, to connect directly with my team via Telegram at http://t.me/BarkhizIranBot and join the national campaign for Iran's salvation today.
I've said, and written, for years that if Iran is going to see a new day, if the mullahs and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are going to be defenestrated and a new, modern, democratic Iran emerges from the rubble, it will have to be the Iranian people who do it. And note that Reza Pahlavi appeals not only to the rank and file Iranian citizens, but also to the military, the government security forces and the police to join the effort. These, much more so than the thugs in the IRGC, are more likely to be loyal to the people of Iran than to the mullahs or the theocratic government they oversee.
There's no indication on when Mr. Pahlavi plans to return, personally, to Iran. It's belaboring the obvious to point out that it's far too soon to do so now. But if his plans, whatever form they may take, are successful, he meets all the requirements of an interim leader, someone the Iranian people know, someone they can rally around.
That's how a new Iran may arise from the ashes of the old. And, remember, if this happens, it was made possible by the Trump administration's reducing of the Iranian military to scattered spare parts, and the reducing of their economy to a shambles.