The exiled prince of Iran has proposed leading the country’s democratic transition to end the Islamic Republic in a new speech Monday. 

“Today, it is clearer than ever: The Islamic Republic is collapsing,” Reza Pahlavi, the eldest son of the late last shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, said. “Credible reports indicate that Ali Khamenei’s family – and the families of senior regime officials – are making preparations to flee Iran. The regime is on its last legs, in towns and cities across the country. The military is fractured. The people are united. The foundations of this 46-year tyranny are shaking.”

“This is our Berlin Wall moment,” Pahlavi said from a press conference he called in Paris.

“To those of you who are loyal to the Iranian nation, and not the Islamic Republic: there is a future for you in a democratic Iran, if you join the people now,” Pahlavi said. “The choice is yours to make. I know these officers, these soldiers, these brave men exist because they are reaching out to me and telling me they want to be part of this national salvation. But now, greater coordination is needed.” 

Pahlavi announced that he is establishing “a formal channel for military, security, and police personnel to reach out directly to me, my team, and our expanding operation.” He promised that it was a “secure platform to efficiently manage the growing volume of inbound communications and requests from those breaking with the regime and seeking to join our movement.” 

He said the international community was right to be concerned about stopping nuclear weapons and securing regional stability. Although the destruction of the three nuclear sites at Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow has “diminished the regime’s domestic nuclear enrichment,” Pahlavi warned that the U.S. strikes did “not diminish the regime’s intent to acquire and use nuclear weapons.”

“The regime, enraged and emboldened, will be seeking revenge and can acquire nuclear weapons from other rogue regimes like North Korea,” he said. “The destruction of the regime’s nuclear facilities alone will not deliver peace.” 

Reza Pahlavi holds a press conference in Paris on June 23, 2025. (JOEL SAGET/AFP via Getty Images)

Pahlavi said he was “stepping forward to lead this national transition – not out of personal interest but as a servant of the Iranian people.” He said he has a “clear plan for transition and national renewal” based on three core principles: Iran’s territorial integrity; individual liberties and equality of all citizens; and separation of religion and state. Pahlavi proposed convening a “national unity summit” of activists, dissidents, business leaders, professionals, experts and other groups outside of politics. 

The goal would be for them to together develop a roadmap to democratic transition, and he said the “final form of this future democracy we seek will be for the Iranian people to decide in a national referendum.” 

Pahlavi also said he developed a three-phase, comprehensive plan for the “economic reconstruction and social stabilization” of the country. He promised that his team of experts “will publish the plans for the first 100 days after the collapse of the Islamic Republic based on this work.” 

“We are bringing together some of the world’s greatest investors, builders, entrepreneurs, and experts who care about Iran and see its immense potential,” he said. 

Before opting for U.S. military intervention, President Donald Trump reportedly was working with Turkey to coordinate a diplomatic resolution to the Israel-Iran conflict and cut a nuclear deal, but the ayatollah did not engage. According to Axios, sources said Trump offered to send Vice President JD Vance and White House envoy Steve Witkoff for negotiations, and Trump offered to come to Turkey himself if it meant meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. 

Turkey relayed the proposal to its Iranian counterparts, who reportedly could not reach Khamenei for hours. Without the ayatollah’s sign-off, the proposed meeting was called off.