- Reza Pahlavi blamed US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites on Khamenei's nuclear weapons pursuit
- Pahlavi urged Khamenei to step down for the sake of the Iranian people
- US President Trump confirmed strikes on Fordo, Isfahan, and Natanz nuclear facilities
Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Shah, claimed on Sunday that US strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities were a result of "catastrophic pursuit of nuclear weapons" by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's "terrorist regime." Pehalvi urged Khamenei to "respond" to American attacks by "stepping down" from his position for the sake of the Iranian people.
Until recently, Pahlavi was a figure with little to no say in Iranian affairs. However, he has now become a regular on TV and is calling for a regime change in Iran.
"The strikes on the Islamic Republic's three nuclear sites are the result of the regime's catastrophic pursuit of nuclear weapons at the expense of the Iranian people," he wrote in a post on X.
"Ali Khamenei and his crumbling terrorist regime have failed the nation. As Khamenei considers how to respond from his underground bunker, I say to him: For the sake of the Iranian people, respond by stepping down, so the proud Iranian nation can leave the disastrous period of the Islamic Republic behind and start a new chapter of peace, prosperity and greatness," Pahlavi added.
He further said that the only sure way to achieve peace in Iran is for Khamenei's regime to end.
Still considered the Crown Prince of Iran in exile, despite the fall of the monarchy in 1979 after the Islamic revolution, Reza Pahlavi is an old and familiar voice calling for regime change in Iran. Under the Shah regime's leadership, Iran was considered a vibrant nation - a constitutional monarchy with democratic values.
US Attacks In Iran
US President Donald Trump said the US military carried out strikes on Sunday on three Iranian nuclear sites and that Tehran "must now agree to end this war", following days of speculation over whether the United States would join its ally Israel's bombing campaign.
Trump said the US military carried out a "very successful attack" on three Iranian nuclear sites, including the underground uranium enrichment facility at Fordo.
"We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, referring to Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz.
"A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site," Fordo, he said, adding the planes were safely out of Iranian airspace and on the way home.
Iranian media said the Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites were hit.
