Exiled prince urges Iranians to prepare for post strike uprising
Exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi has urged Iranians to ready themselves for a new wave of street protests after the United States and Israel launched large scale strikes on targets across Iran. Pahlavi, speaking from exile, described the operation as a humanitarian intervention aimed at dismantling the Islamic Republic’s security and military apparatus while avoiding harm to ordinary citizens. He told Iranians that foreign military action alone would not topple the regime and said that only coordinated popular mobilization inside the country could deliver what he called final victory.
In a statement shared on social media, Pahlavi said the assistance promised by the American president had now arrived and called the joint operation proof that the regime’s leadership could no longer rely on impunity. He stressed that despite the strikes, it was Iranians themselves who must “finish the job” by returning to the streets when he gives the signal, urging people for now to stay indoors and prioritize their safety while the bombardment continues. Pahlavi said he would later announce a precise timetable and method for what he described as the final phase of the struggle against the clerical state.
Pahlavi appealed directly to Iran’s armed forces, police and security services, arguing that their oath was to protect the nation rather than its current rulers. He called on commanders and rank and file personnel to refuse orders to shoot protesters and instead join the population in managing an eventual transition away from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s rule. Those who continue to defend the regime, he warned, risk sharing its fate if the Islamic Republic collapses under combined internal and external pressure.
The coordinated strikes began overnight and hit sites in several major cities, including Tehran, Isfahan and other strategic locations that house command centers, air defense systems and missile infrastructure. Israeli media reported that the campaign was codenamed Roaring Lion, while the US Department of Defense referred to it as Operation Epic Fury. Targets included facilities linked to Iran’s ballistic missile program and elements of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as Washington and Jerusalem sought to degrade Iran’s ability to threaten the region.
US President Donald Trump announced that major combat operations in Iran were underway and said the strikes were designed to destroy missile stockpiles, cripple production capacity and severely weaken Iran’s navy. In a video address, he warned that American casualties were possible but framed the campaign as a necessary step to prevent Tehran from advancing its nuclear and missile ambitions. Trump urged members of the Revolutionary Guard and other armed units to lay down their weapons, promising immunity to those who surrender and warning that those who resist could face “certain death.”
Pahlavi, in turn, called on Trump and allied commanders to take maximum care to avoid civilian casualties, saying Iranians under the regime’s rule are natural partners for democratic governments. He said he hoped to return to Iran as soon as circumstances permit so that he can stand alongside citizens in rebuilding institutions once the Islamic Republic falls. Pahlavi’s message comes after weeks of deadlocked talks over Iran’s nuclear program and just over a month after an exceptionally bloody crackdown on demonstrations inside the country.
Human rights monitors and opposition media have described the January repression as the deadliest protest crackdown in Iran’s modern history, with internal documents reviewed by Iran International indicating that more than 36,500 people were killed over two days of nationwide unrest. Earlier estimates published by the same outlet, based on classified reports and hospital data, had already put the toll at a minimum of 12,000 deaths. The scale of the killings, combined with internet blackouts and media censorship, has reinforced claims by exiled opposition figures that the Islamic Republic is willing to use unlimited force to stay in power.
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