Son of Ousted Shah Calls for the End of Iran’s Islamic Regime, Praises Trump in Passionate Speech

The exiled crown prince of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, delivered a powerful speech to a conservative gathering at Dallas on Saturday, outlining a vision for a free and democratic Iran while emphasizing what he called an urgent need to completely dismantle the Islamist regime that has controlled the country for nearly half a century. Addressing a passionate crowd that often chanted in Persian, Mr. Pahlavi honored the courageous protesters of his nation who have died fighting against a government he described as an “evil, depraved regime” that exports terrorism and suppresses its own citizens.“Life can never go back to normal,” he told the crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference. “There is a sea of blood between the people and the regime. After all the massacres, after all they have sacrificed, they will never agree to swap one tyrant for another.”He declared that Mojtaba Khamenei, the son and successor to the late supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and “his cabal of criminals have dragged Iran from the 21st center into the dark ages.”Mr. Pahlavi highlighted the immense sacrifices made by the Iranian people, detailing the brutal crackdowns, internet blackouts, and massacres perpetrated by the regime’s forces against pro-democracy protesters. He argued that the current leadership, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, is inherently incapable of reform.“They might promise a short period of artificial calm, but it would inevitably be followed by the same terrorism, the same nuclear blackmail, and the same cries of death to America, because the truth is simple: The Islamic Republic cannot reform itself. You cannot reform a snake. Venom is in its DNA,” he said to cheers.The speech received repeated standing ovations and loud cheers despite evidence at the CPAC gathering of a widening generational divide in which some young conservatives are expressing frustration with the decision to engage in a military conflict in Iran.While the president holds a 96 percent approval rating among CPAC participants, according to a presentation from GOP pollsters McLaughlin & Associates, Vice President JD Vance, who has been largely silent on the war, held a wide lead in polling among the crowd as a 2028 candidate followed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a strong advocate for the war, with the split in preference representing a proxy rift over the conflict. This internal party tension is echoing through the rank-and-file, conservative media influencers, and even reaching corners of the White House. At CPAC, some attendees have carried Iranian flags to signal support for the U.S. mission, while others have worn “America First” apparel, fiercely advocating for anti-interventionism.“Trump and Republicans in general are going to have major issues in the midterms, in 2028, if we can’t wrap this up in a relatively quick amount of time,” 21-year-old Andrew Belcher, president of the Ohio College Republicans, told Politico.Mr. Pahlavi’s speech featured heavy praise for President Trump, crediting his military actions for degrading the regime’s terror network and shattering its myth of invincibility. The crowd erupted into chants of “Thank you, Trump” as Mr. Pahlavi expressed deep gratitude for the strategic strikes that he claims have finally given the Iranian people a genuine fighting chance to oust their leaders.“The only path to lasting peace and stability runs through a clean break with this regime. For the first time in 47 years, President Trump’s strategy has given us a real chance to achieve that outcome,” he said.“For decades, every American president since Jimmy Carter chose to try to manage this looming threat rather than resolve it. Each of them has failed. They have only made the problem worse. The result has been more dead Iranians and more dead Americans. So the mullahs operated on the assumption that America didn’t have the stomach to confront them decisively.”Mr. Pahlavi fervently urged the United States and the international community to “finish the job.” He warned against leaving any faction of the current regime in power, arguing that any remnant of the Islamic Republic would simply buy time before returning to its old ways of jihad, terrorism, and nuclear blackmail.“Those who have spent 47 years sowing chaos cannot be trusted to bring about stability. Terrorists cannot be trusted to bring peace. If they are left in place, they will bring only more of the instability, chaos and destruction they have brought for 47 years. They are not pragmatists; they are thugs. They are not deal makers. They are agents of chaos,” he said to more cheers.Addressing fears of a power vacuum following the regime’s collapse, Mr. Pahlavi said, “Millions of Iranians have called on me to lead the transition to democracy. I have accepted that call not to serve myself. I have accepted that call not to serve myself but to serve my nation and my people.”He assured the international community that the transition would be orderly, citing his “Iran Prosperity Project” roadmap and noting that thousands of military officials have already signaled their readiness to defect and support his coalition.“What we ask of America now is simple: stay the course. Do not throw this crumbling regime a lifeline. Pave the way for the Iranian people to finish the job because freedom is not an American story alone. It is a story of all people who refuse to live on their knees. It is the story America wrote in 1776, and today, it is the story the Iranian people are writing with their courage and sacrifice. We prefer to die standing than to leave kneeling,” he said.The crown prince also said Iranians will rise up when the time is right. “Iranians are ready to play their part. The final blow will be delivered by the people of Iran themselves. They are already on the ground and have already demonstrated their extraordinary courage. They are ready to fight again, but they must be given the chance to do so,” he said. “They are taking shelter while the bombs are falling, but when the right moment arrives, as in January, I will call on them to rise up again.”Concluding his address, the crown prince painted a picture of a prosperous Middle East where a free Iran stands alongside the United States and Israel as a partner in peace. Echoing a familiar political sentiment in America, he said, “President Trump is making America great again. I intend to make Iran great again.”

Son of Ousted Shah Calls for the End of Iran’s Islamic Regime, Praises Trump in Passionate Speech

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