Exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi suggested Thursday night that discussions are underway about a post-Islamic Iran amid disarray in Tehran following attacks by Israel on the nation's nuclear and military sites.
"Sources inside Iran say that the regime's command and control structures are collapsing at a rapid pace," Pahlavi, son of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who ruled Iran before the Islamic Revolution forced him out in 1979, wrote in a post on X.
"Meanwhile, the international community is beginning to realize that the Islamic Republic has no future. Our discussions about a post-Islamic Republic Iran have begun."
He did not provide details about the parties involved in discussions regarding a post-Islamic government in Iran, or about the rapid collapse of the government's command and control structures.
Israel reportedly said it has killed at least 11 senior generals while striking Iranian nuclear sites and missile launchers in what it called an effort to prevent the regime from developing a nuclear weapon.
Pahlavi's press office posted Wednesday on X that the crown prince, 64, met with a bipartisan group of House members.
"The Islamic Republic — a regime that has waged war against my people for 46 years, and has persecuted Christians, Jews, Baha'is, and Muslims alike — is in the final stages of collapse," Pahlavi said in a statement to the lawmakers, a copy of which his press office shared on its post. "Its leader has retreated underground while using my people as human shields. The regime's grip on the country is unraveling. What we are witnessing is not a political shift. It is a spiritual and moral reckoning."
Pahlavi told the lawmakers that a free Iran will end the regime's stated hatred of Western nations, including the U.S. and Israel.
"Let me be clear: The people of Iran do not hate Israel," he said. "They do not hate America. That hatred was manufactured by a regime that used religion as a weapon — a regime that perverted faith to justify terror. While the Islamic Republic chants 'Death to America,' the Iranian people chant: 'Our enemy is right here, they lie when they say it's America.'
"A free Iran will end this unnatural hostility. We will seek peace and partnership with Israel. We will once again be a friend to America. Our children deserve to grow up in a region where ancient hatreds are replaced by mutual respect. That is what I am fighting for."
Pahlavi said that standing with the Iranian people does not mean the involvement of U.S. troops or tax dollars, likening it to the U.S. commitment during the Cold War against Eastern bloc communism.
"Let me be clear: Standing with us does not require your troops and it does not require your tax dollars," he said. "It does not require another endless American war in the Middle East. Indeed, that is exactly what we are trying to stop. Because as long as the Islamic Republic is in power, it will be waging war on Israel and on America.
"The only way to end the endless wars is to help us put an end to the Islamic Republic. When we do, Israel and America can finally live in peace. Help us isolate this regime. Help us elevate the cause of freedom. Help us prepare the ground for what comes after: a nation reborn, at peace with its neighbors, and reconnected to its spiritual heritage."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.