Reza Pahlavi urges Trump to back protesters and press for Iran regime's end

Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s deposed shah and a figure of the opposition in exile, said he supported U.S. intervention to back mass protests in Iran and issued a direct plea to President Trump to get involved in an interview on the Fox News program "Sunday Morning Futures." Pahlavi said mass protesters had been emboldened by Mr.

Trump’s warnings that he could strike the Iranian government if peaceful protesters were killed, and he told the president, “They know that you’re not going to throw them under the bus, as has happened before. This is why they are empowered — by the hope that you have their back.” Several Iranian rights groups said on Sunday the death toll after two weeks of protests had reached the hundreds.

Asked whether he wanted U.S. forces to “take out Khamenei,” Pahlavi said “the people of Iran have responded and reacted positively to a promise of intervention,” and added, “We need to cut the snake’s head off for good so it can no longer be a threat… And the only solution is to make sure this regime goes down for good and the Iranian people can liberate themselves.” Born in Tehran in 1960, Pahlavi has lived in exile since the 1979 revolution; he has long been a divisive figure among the opposition but, according to some analysts, appears to have gained support inside Iran in recent years.

The current unrest began after a plunge in the value of Iran’s currency on Dec.

Key Topics

World, Reza Pahlavi, Iranian Protests, Donald Trump, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran