Reza Pahlavi’s Iranian regime change message landed just hours after President Trump hinted at support online. The exiled crown prince released a video calling for the end of Iran’s Islamic regime and a return to national sovereignty. It came with strong language, and what looks like the clearest signal yet from Iran’s opposition that change might be coming, from within this time. Hopefully.

What Reza Pahlavi’s Iranian Regime Change Movement Means

His video message, complete with a new flag and nationalistic tone, marks the boldest call yet for Iranians to take back their country from the mullahs.

“This is our Berlin Wall moment,” he said, announcing he will lead the movement to “liberate Iran” and restore national sovereignty.

The complete text of my opening remarks at today’s press conference:

Ladies and Gentlemen, members of the international press corps, good afternoon.

Thank you for being here today. This is a historic moment for our nation. I will begin with a brief message to my compatriots in… pic.twitter.com/2IX4lC8Nsj

— Reza Pahlavi (@PahlaviReza) June 23, 2025

The U.S. can support Iranian freedom from afar—but we’re not sending troops, toppling governments, or playing world police again. We’ve seen how that ends.

Iran’s exiled crown prince, Reza Pahlavi, held a press conference on Monday where he announced he is ready to lead Iran into a new regime. Pahlavi said he plans on setting up a new “Secure platform” to coordinate efforts to overthrow Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Just yesterday, Donald Trump was on social media calling to Make Iran Great Again, and Americans raised eyebrows everywhere. No, sir, we don’t want to get involved in pushing another regime change, thanks. You did your part by showing strength and bombing the nuclear sites. That’s enough.

Trump’s post may have signaled support, but even he knows the appetite for U.S. intervention is gone. That doesn’t mean we stop caring—it means we stop pretending we can fix every broken regime.

Let the Iranian people fight for their own freedom. We can support them with moral clarity, not military force.

Who Is Reza Pahlavi—and Is His Video Legit?

Reza Pahlavi is the son of Iran’s last king, who was kicked out during the 1979 Islamic Revolution. He’s lived in the U.S. ever since and stayed politically active, showing up at international events and Iranian protest rallies. These days, he leads a group that pushes for a more democratic Iran—not a return to monarchy. His new video calling to overthrow the current regime looks serious and seems like an effort to rally Iranians who want change.

But….

What’s the Global Response?

It’s still early, and most world leaders haven’t said much yet. Israel’s prime minister called Iran’s Supreme Leader a “modern Hitler” and said the country should be free—but made it clear that Iranians need to lead that fight themselves.

Why We Should Be Careful

Calls for regime change might sound bold, but we’ve seen this movie before—and it doesn’t end well. Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan… every time the U.S. tries to rebuild a country, it gets messy fast. Reza Pahlavi’s video is powerful, but big speeches and new flags don’t equal a ready-made government.

Let the Iranian people lead their own fight. We can cheer them on without turning it into our next foreign project.

It’s tough to know how much support Reza Pahlavi really has inside Iran. From what I’ve read, the opposition over there isn’t exactly united—there are a lot of different groups with different goals, and they’re not all lining up behind the same figure. People outside the country might be excited by his message, but inside? That’s harder to measure. And maybe that’s why this isn’t blowing up in the media just yet.

Feature Image: Reza Pahlavi/Gage Skidmore/Flickr/License CC BY-SA 2.0