Reza Pahlavi has called on the international community to help the people of Iran in their ongoing fight to topple the Islamic regime.The exiled Crown prince argued that the ayatollah's violent crackdowns signal the "hostile occupying force" is "close to collapse."."The so-called Islamic republic is not the government of Iran — it is a hostile occupying force that has hijacked our homeland," Pahlavi said during a press conference in Washington, DC on Friday. "After invading five neighbouring countries, and sowing chaos across the region, this regime has invaded Iran itself, using foreign terrorists, Hezbollah fighters, Iraqi militias, and other mercenaries to slaughter the Iranian people."."Khamenei and his thugs have committed mass crimes against the Iranian people and against all of humanity," Pahlavi continued. "Just like other tyrannies, the Islamic republic will fall — not if, but when."He reiterated that "the battle in Iran today is not between reform and revolution — it is between occupation and liberation.".Pahlavi went on to explain some of the ways the regime has treated protestors in recent days."More than 12,000 Iranians were massacred in 48 hours," he said. "Khamanei's killers even hunted the wounded protestors in hospitals and executed them in cold blood. The regime compiled piles of bodies with dump trucks, and forced worried families to search unlabelled body bags. They refused to return bodies for burial without payment ... when when a family cannot pay several thousand dollars — and most of them can't — they bury the dead in unmarked mass graves."Pahlavi cautioned against believing the regime's claims that the killing has ended, noting that "the slaughter has not stopped.""The Islamic republic is close to collapse," he declared. Ali Khamenei and his thugs know this. That’s why they’re lashing out like a wounded animal, desperate to cling to power.".Pahlavi went on to argue that bringing down the Islamic regime would benefit not only the Iranian people, but the Middle East and "global stability" itself.."Supporting the Iranian people is not an act of charity, nor is it unwarranted interference," he said. "Forty-seven years of exported terror, nuclear threats, and regional chaos must end."Pahlavi made it clear that support does not mean "boots on the ground," but "resolute, targeted support to protect lives, amplify their voices, and hasten the collapse that is already underway.".He laid out six ways the world can help. Chief among them were striking military targets to weaken the regime's ability to massacre protestors and blocking assets worldwide. Also on the list were breaking through the "information blockade" by enabling internet via satellite, expelling Islamic regime diplomats from capitals, pursuing charges against those responsible for the crimes against humanity, demanding the immediate release of political prisoners, and preparing for a democratic transition in Iran by "committing to recognize a legitimate transitional government when the time comes."Pahlavi said he would return to Iran to facilitate the transition to a new government himself..Pahlavi called on United States President Donald Trump to broker peace between a free Iran and its neighbours via the "Cyrus Accords," modelled after the Abraham Accords he helped put into place between Israel and Arab nations.During a Q&A period afterwards, Pahlavi was asked whether he believed military intervention was necessary.."The Iranian people are defenceless on the streets, unarmed against a regime that is unleashing on them with military weapons ... and these odds are not fair for a nation that is trying to overcome a regime by means of protesting peacefully on the streets," he said. "The only way you can equalize the playing field is to help them have a better chance by weakening the regime's apparatus of repression, and these are mostly paramilitary institutions such as the IRGC.".Pahlavi pointed out that the IRGC has been the "main instrument of the regime's repression at home and terror abroad," thus "any strike on those entities will ... weaken the regime."He said that when it reaches that point, he would encourage regime leaders to flee so the people can "enter the phase of transition.""If action happens, great, if it doesn't, we will still fight," Pahlavi concluded. "The difference is it will be longer, costlier to us as a nation, more loss of life, and if the world does care about Iranian loss of life, then they better act," Pahlavi concluded.While many in the international community — including the United States — have repeatedly voiced their support for the people of Iran, no military action has been taken just yet. Trump has gone back and forth on using such tactics, claiming that he would, and then taking it back after being told that the regime had stopped murdering protestors.
