Iran’s exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi on Sunday warned against any move to appoint a successor to the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, declaring that such an attempt would lack legitimacy and deepen the crisis gripping the Islamic Republic. In a statement posted on X, Pahlavi described Khamenei as “the Zahhak of our time, the demonic figure who just a few weeks ago issued the order to slaughter tens of thousands of Iran’s finest sons and daughters,” adding that he “has been eliminated.”The statement came immediately after Iran declared Ayatollah Arafi as the next interim Supreme Leader.“With his ignominious death, and that of many of his appointees and loyalists, the Islamic Republic is drawing its final breaths. Through your resolve and courage, it will soon be consigned to the dustbin of history,” he wrote. Khamenei was killed in joint US-Israeli strikes carried out early Saturday, triggering a succession process in Tehran and intensifying political tensions inside and outside Iran. Pahlavi called for the “complete downfall of the Islamic Republic” and urged state officials to surrender power. “Surrender to the people of Iran. Declare your loyalty to my programme and the transition framework. And hand over power without further bloodshed,” he said.He also cautioned against installing a new supreme leader. “Any attempt by the remnants of the regime to appoint a successor to Khamenei is doomed to fail from the outset. Whoever they place in his stead will not only lack legitimacy but will also be complicit in the crimes of this regime.” Addressing Iran’s armed forces, police and security services, Pahlavi urged them to side with the public. “Your weapons must serve to defend the great nation of Iran, not the criminal Republic, nor its anti-Iranian thugs and bandits,” he said, calling on them to “Join the people of Iran and the Lion and Sun Revolution,” he added. He further appealed to Iranians abroad to amplify international support, urging them to “Make the world hear of the Iranian people’s support for this humanitarian intervention, and our demand for the regime’s total collapse.”“The demise of the Zahhak of our time, though it marks the beginning of our great national celebration, is not the end of the road. Stay vigilant. Stay ready. The time for a massive and decisive presence in the streets is nearly upon us,” Pahlavi wrote.The statement comes at a time of uncertainty in Iran’s leadership, as the country navigates a sensitive political transition following Khamenei’s death.
