Son of former shah says he is 'uniquely positioned' to lead Iran as he predicts end of regime
Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s former pro-western monarch, has predicted the country’s Islamic regime will fall and claimed he is “uniquely” placed to head a successor government.
His bid to assume the leadership of a possible new Iran follows weeks of mass protests that have left thousands dead after being brutally suppressed by security forces.
His credentials are certain to be challenged by other opponents of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s regime, given Pahlavi has not been in Iran since his family fled the country at the beginning of the 1979 Islamic revolution. Many question his level of popular support, even though his name has been chanted at some protests.
Calling on the west to help unseat Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, Pahlavi said on Friday that the regime was nevertheless doomed to collapse with or without such assistance.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/16/son-of-former-iranian-monarch-calls-for-targeted-intervention-to-hasten-regimes-collapse
Not a great idea, only marginally better than what they have now.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Well, my stepdad's parents who were pretty much my grandparents. Grandpa Frank worked for Foremost-McKesson over there for many many years, then fled in the late 70's. So yeah, I'm somewhat familiar with the history, I just misinterpreted your post as suggesting it's known that Pahlavi has US support.
I have to say I would not at all be disappointed if the PEOPLE of Iran elect someone as leader who is more friendly to the West, despite the horrors of the asshole Shah's goons, and corruption. At minimum I *really* hope for a secular, democratic government for them (as I do for all the peoples of the world).
As an aside, almost all Iranians I've met throughout life here in the US (it's funny they ALL call themselves "Persian" if you ask), have been friendly, hard-working people. I hope for the best for them 
is depressing to me--especially as few (Americans, at least) read/study even American history. And ignoring their millennia of incredible ancient history aside, per my sigline, I see us set up to repeat the mistakes of the recent past. Quite obviously, I and every other American would like to see a return in Iran to good relationships with the US--but given how we are destroying these left and right (north and south) given Trump's treatment of former close friends and allies, I don't see this happening. If anything a dictator that may help oil interests might be installed as he intends to do in Venezuela, but both may be just as likely to see unrest, violence, and coups for the next several decades. Better than Ayatollahs? Yes. But...
I was very fortunate as a teen to get to travel--not only throughout Tehran but to Isfahan and some of the ancient relic-laden areas of Iran. It was amazing. But even I, as a teen, only occasionally visiting could see "things" were clearly changing among Iranian people who had HAD it with Americans (especially those women who would insensitively dress incredibly provocatively, despite the country being conservative, but not overly restrictive at the time). My last trip had me avoiding Iranian women on the street, some who had taken to throwing acid at western women. Not all were in that mode as I had a lot of fun interacting with the local neighborhood cops in Tehran--who retained quite the sense of humor. I mention this only to say the CIA had abandoned their integration of "assets" into the country's culture so they were absolutely blindsided. Even this relatively naive' teen from the US could see it coming. 
Can we get that going here in the USA too, please?
Does he think that the Iranians want a new dictatorship where his secret police can abuse and kill the citizens of Iran?
