Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s ousted Shah, dropped a bombshell on March 1 from Washington: Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is history – literally. ‘He’s been scrubbed from the annals of time,’ Pahlavi proclaimed, declaring the Islamic Republic on its last legs.
Branding Khamenei the era’s vampiric despot, Pahlavi charged him with the murders of innumerable heroic Iranians. The leader’s death, he said, marks the practical demise of the regime, soon to be forgotten in history’s shadows.
Pahlavi cautioned hardliners against succession schemes: ‘Doomed from day one. Their chosen heir will be illegitimate and complicit in horrors.’
In a direct plea to security apparatus – army, police, guards – he stressed: ‘This is make-or-break. Align with citizens now to forge Iran’s liberated future. Propping up the fallen power will fail.’
Though no substitute for justice or reviving the dead, Khamenei’s exit eases pain for bereaved kin, Pahlavi reflected poignantly.
To Iran’s ‘noble, fearless’ public: ‘The grand celebration begins, but stay sharp. Massive street mobilizations loom. United in strength, we’ll clinch triumph and revel in a sovereign Iran.’
Decades in US exile haven’t dimmed Pahlavi’s fire; he’s fueled protests remotely and eyes a return as interim head to midwife democracy.