Reza Pahlavi, the son of the Iranian shah, who was overthrown during the Islamic Revolution in 1979, has called for urgent action at a time when Iran is gripped by mass protests. According to him, a quick intervention by the US could limit the casualties and hasten the fall of the current leadership, DPA reported, BTA reported.
"The best way to ensure that there will be fewer casualties in Iran is to intervene sooner so that this regime can finally fall", Pahlavi said last night in an interview with the American television CBS.
President Donald Trump "must make a decision very soon", he noted.
Reza Pahlavi added that he had communicated with the American administration, but did not provide details.
Trump had already assured participants in the ongoing mass protests in Iran that he supported them, noting that the US military was considering possible strikes on Iran, but also other options, DPA recalled.
Pahlavi accused the Iranian leadership of trying to deceive the international community by giving signals of readiness to negotiate an end to the unrest. He said that "the game changer will come when this regime understands that it can no longer rely on a sustained campaign of repression without the world reacting to it".
When asked if he was calling on Trump to push for regime change, Pahlavi replied: "The president is clear when he says that "he supports the Iranian people".
"Solidarity with the Iranian people ultimately means supporting them in their demands, and their demands are for this regime to go", the son of the last shah stressed.
Pahlavi, who was designated as heir apparent by his father, the late shah of Persia, has been living in exile in the United States for decades, DPA recalls.
Earlier, the "Wall Street Journal" The Associated Press reported that some senior aides in President Donald Trump's administration, led by Vice President J.D. Vance, are urging Trump to try a diplomatic approach before striking Iran. A spokesman for Vance told Reuters that the newspaper's report was inaccurate.
"Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Rubio are jointly presenting the president with a range of options ranging from diplomatic to military action," said William Martin, Vance's communications director. "They are presenting these options without bias or favoritism."