29.01.2026 06:20
Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran's deposed leader Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, called for international assistance against the Iranian regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in an interview with the Israeli press.
Reza Pahlavi stated in an interview with Israel's Jerusalem Post that the Iranian people took to the streets "more boldly than ever before" at the end of December 2025 and the beginning of January 2026.
CLAIMED THAT THE IRANIAN PEOPLE HAVE CALLED FOR HIM TO LEAD
The son of the deposed Shah of Iran, who claims that the Iranian people have called for him to lead, asserted that the Tehran regime is weaker than ever, and that the people are more united in their criticism of not only economic conditions but the system itself, noting that millions took to the streets on January 8-9.
"NOW IS THE TIME TO HELP THEM"
Pahlavi, noting that the Iranian regime has resorted to violence against the people, stated, "Now is the time for the international community to help them." He emphasized that the Iranian society must decide its own future, arguing that assisting the Iranian people in overthrowing the regime would provide a strategic benefit for the entire world and that the protesters are fighting to free the world from the regime.
The exiled son of the deposed Shah of Iran suggested that assistance should be provided to the Iranian people not only for humanitarian needs but also for strategic needs, without specifying what those strategic needs are. Pahlavi, who claimed that the regime has cut off communication and relies on the Revolutionary Guards' repression mechanism for survival, told the Israeli newspaper, "Consider that 29 times more people have died in the protests since October 7, and 11 times more than on September 11."
Pahlavi pointed out that the international conditions are different from previous protests, stating that former U.S. Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden abandoned the protesters in Iran, and that today, the words of U.S. President Donald Trump have encouraged the protesters.
PROTESTS IN IRAN
The protests that began on December 28, 2025, led by merchants in the Grand Bazaar of Tehran due to the rapid depreciation of the local currency against foreign currencies and the deepening economic troubles, spread across the country. Following the escalation of protests in the capital Tehran on January 8, the government had blocked internet access. In recent days, after the protests ended, internet access has been partially and limitedly restored.
In a statement on January 21, based on the Iranian Martyrs and Veterans Foundation's Forensic Medicine Institution, it was announced that 3,117 people, including security forces and civilians, lost their lives during the incidents that occurred during the protests. The U.S.-based Iran Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported that 6,126 people died in the incidents during the protests, and 41,880 people were detained.