Iran's former crown prince Reza Pahlavi has called for the immediate overthrow of the Islamic Republic and announced plans to lead a democratic transition on June 23, declaring that the current regime is "collapsing" and "on its last legs".

Speaking at a press conference viewed by IntelliNews, Pahlavi directly addressed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, telling him to "step down" and warning that if he does, he would receive "a fair trial and due process of law." He made the comments as Tehran was being bombed by Israeli jets, including strikes on the city's main prison in Evin. 

Pahlavi is the eldest son of the late Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who ruled Iran until he was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The crown prince, who was 18 when his family fled Iran, has lived in exile primarily in the United States and holds a Monaco passport. He has spent decades advocating for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic, which replaced his family.

He accused Khamenei of being the "architect" of Iran's current conflicts and driving the nation's economy to the brink of collapse." Since his family’s departure in 1979, the exchange rate of the Iranian rial (IRR) to the US dollar was roughly IRR70 to 1 US dollar; it is currently IRR929,000 to a dollar, according to one forex site, Navasan on June 23.  

The former crown prince claimed that “credible reports” indicate Khamenei's family and senior regime officials are “making preparations to flee Iran” as the government faces mounting pressure from ongoing protests and military strikes on the country's nuclear facilities.

Pahlavi announced the establishment of a formal channel for military, security and police personnel to communicate directly with his team, encouraging them to "join the nation" and break with the current government.

He said patriotic members of the armed forces were already reaching out to him seeking to participate in what he termed "national salvation."

He has claimed for several weeks that certain individuals in the military reached out to his group, but has been hostile to questions about how far his plans had progressed as Israel continued its attacks on Tehran and other cities.

The former royal outlined plans for a "national unity summit" that would include activists, dissidents and groups, but did not mention his biggest expatriate counterpart, the Mujahideen-e Khalq (MEK), which is also hoping for the collapse of the Islamic Republic in a press conference broadcast from Berlin on June 22.

Pahlavi said his team would publish detailed plans for the first 100 days following “the collapse of the Islamic Republic.”

Reactions to the US-based former royal have been mixed following the live streaming of the video, with expatriate Iranians viewing his positioning as both positive while also negative.

Prominent Iranian-American personalities, including Patrick Bet-David, have criticised Pahlavi for being “vanilla” in his responses about returning to rule Iran, saying he was not the right person.

Other Iranians have also voiced their concerns about his abilities, suggesting that he had become an agent of Israel. Pahlavi admitted during the June 23 press conference to having visited Israel in 2023, including visiting the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.