Iranian royal in exile Reza Pahlavi thanks Trump after US-Israel strikes kill Khamenei, talks of ‘Prosperity Project’

Iranian royal in exile Reza Pahlavi has thanked the US President Donald Trump for Operation Epic Fury against the regime in Iran and eventually killing Supreme Leader Ayotollah Khamenei. In a piece in the Washington Post, Pahlavi said: “In announcing the strikes, President Donald Trump laid out the grave threats the world’s foremost sponsor of terrorism poses to the United States and its allies. He also addressed the Iranian people — the regime’s longest-suffering victims — declaring that ‘the hour of your freedom is at hand’.” In a post on Facebook, Pahlavi said: “Ali Khamenei, the bloodthirsty despot of our time, the murderer of tens of thousands of Iran’s bravest sons and daughters, has been erased from the face of history. With his death, the Islamic Republic has in effect reached its end and will very soon be consigned to the dustbin of history.” “Any attempt by the remnants of the regime to appoint a successor to Khamenei is doomed to fail from the outset. Whoever they place in his stead will have neither legitimacy nor longevity, and will undoubtedly be complicit in the crimes of this regime as well,” he warned. He backed the Donald Trump‘s demand for closing Iran’s nuclear programme and said the Islamic Republic “has operated as an expansionist revolutionary enterprise, subverting neighbors’ sovereignty, fueling conflicts around the world, and pursuing nuclear weapons and the long-range missiles to deliver them”. ## Iran Prosperity Project Pahlavi further accused the Ayotollah Khamenei regime of committing “most heinous crimes at home”. He exuded confidence that a “free Iran” will return after decades and resume “warm ties” with the United States. He assured: “There will be no dissolution of institutions, no power vacuum, no chaos. That is precisely why my team of experts produced a transition plan called the Iran Prosperity Project.” ALSO READ | Iran-Israel tensions disrupt air travel: 444 flights likely to be cancelled across India today ## ‘Iranians calling on me to lead’: Pahlavi says ‘free Iran’ would recognise Israel Pahlavi in the article said: “Many Iranians, often despite facing bullets, have called on me to lead this transition… Our path forward will be transparent: a new constitution drafted and ratified by referendum, followed by free elections under international oversight. When Iranians vote, the transitional government dissolves.” He assured said a “free Iran” would immediately recognise Israel. ## Who is Reza Pahlavi? Reza Pahlavi is the eldest son of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last monarch of Iran, who was overthrown during the Iranian Revolution. Born in 1960, he was designated “crown prince” before the revolution forced the royal family into exile. Since then, he has lived largely in the United States and positioned himself as a leading opposition figure against Iran’s Muslim clerical establishment. Though he holds no formal political power inside Iran, his name carries symbolic weight — especially among sections of the Iranian diaspora and monarchist supporters. ## Why is Reza Pahlavi important now? Amid escalating tensions involving Iran, Israel, and Western powers, Reza Pahlavi’s relevance has resurfaced. He is a recognisable opposition figure and he is well positioned to forge alliances Israel and the West Pahlavi has consistently presented himself as a secular, pro-democracy alternative to the Islamic Republic. In recent years, he has openly supported stronger ties between Iranians and Israelis, even visiting Israel — a move meant to signal a break from decades of hostility between Tehran and Tel Aviv. This positions him distinctly against the current Iranian leadership’s hardline regional posture. 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