Exiled Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi: Transition Plan and the Fight for Iran's Freedom

**Jason** (0:00)
All right, everybody, welcome back to part two of the AllIn podcast, episode 263 We promised you a part two because we are very lucky that my dear friend, Shervin Pishevar, was able to set up a very important historic interview for us today. None other than Prince Reza Pahlavi is here, and we have a limited amount of time with you, Reza. And may I call you Reza, or should I call you Prince Reza?

**Reza Pahlavi** (0:28)
Reza, thanks for having me on your program.

**Jason** (0:33)
It's great to have you. And this is a moment I think you've been waiting 47, close to 50 years for, which is we are at this moment in time looking at potentially the people of Iran being free. You left the country and when you were 17 years old to become a pilot, and now you are looking to help your people with a transition post this military activity, this operation, essentially a war that's going on right now that we all hope gets resolved quickly. I think people would love to know what is your vision for Iran post this military action.

**Reza Pahlavi** (1:21)
Well, thank you again for the opportunity. Before I get into that, I wanted to simply stress the importance of this intervention that to us was like a rescue mission. It was literally a humanitarian intervention to protect more lives that would otherwise be lost under this extremely brutal and repressive regime that as you know has massacred as of late tens of thousands of innocent and unarmed citizens. In order to equalize the playing field, this was a much-needed intervention that a lot of Iranians asked for. And fortunately, it did happen. But what's the next step? Where are we headed to? The most obvious question will be once the regime collapses, how do we manage the transition? I've stepped in to lead this transition with the help of many of my compatriots from various sectors. We believe that a stable transition will lead to a, address the immediate needs of the country, but then set the country on the path of redevelopment and reconstruction, which is of course something that we were always hoping for, that could not have happened under this corrupt mafia-like regime. Iran should have been, had it not been for the revolution, today's South Korea of the region. Instead, it has become the North Korea of the region. Why? Not because our people are not gifted or talented or capable, not because we lack natural resources, it's simply because of a corrupt, bad management and a regime that basically took our country hostage, used it as a launching pad to export an ideology, and that's why we are here today. A different Iran, a democratic secular Iran, would first and foremost bring about the opportunities to our nation, but it will open Iran for business again. Iran is one of the most untapped economic opportunities of the 21st century, and it could tremendously change the shape of our world in terms of what would be beneficial to the Iranian people, of course, but also from the vantage point of a country like the United States, and billions of dollars that will be generated as a result of doing business in Iran, we figure about one trillion in the first 10 years to the US market, but also billions of dollars that will be invested into Iran and everything that we need to have done in order to rebuild our country. These are crazy opportunities that we can look forward to, and it all starts with moving towards this recovery and transition.

**Jason** (3:49)
And when your father was in charge, it was a monarchy, turned into a dictatorship, and to be clear, the hope now is to evolve into a democracy with free elections for the people, average age of people in Iran now, early 30s, 31, 32 years old. What would that look like? What is a possible timeline? And you have sat on other programs and on your YouTube channel, which I suggest everybody go search for and follow right now, because you're speaking directly to the people on X and on your YouTube channel.
What is the condition on the ground from the people you're talking to? You said you've been talking to people in the military, civilians and other leadership. They're ready to move on. What's the timeline? And what are they telling you is happening on the ground today as we sit here?

**Reza Pahlavi** (4:39)
Well, I think that now the playing field has been equalized, meaning that the people could finally, of course, awaiting the end of this campaign, have a better opportunity to reengage the streets and take over their homeland. Of course, part of the question is how much implosion from within the regime and how much defections from the regime in the sense of joining with the people this time and not be an instrument that will halt the people's progress but instead help the people in that transition, meaning whether people are in the military or security forces as well as a civilian bureaucracy. Unlike what happened after the fall of Saddam Hussein and the demathification, the scenario of changing Iran is totally different. And let's not forget Iran is a multiple century old nation state. It's a country that is extremely unified and united for this common purpose. Under this tent, we have diverse groups that are joining in this national campaign. People who are on the right, the center, the left, monarchies, republicans, ethnic groups, religious groups, every sector of society is engaged. I've had tremendous amount of support coming from inside Iran. We have the support of the intelligentsia, we have the support of universities, we have the support of the working class, we have the support of the diaspora that can bring a lot to this equation. I think this is a good recipe that will allow us to manage this transition, but set the country to clean up, be ready for business, and create the opportunities that will finally impact first and foremost Iranians who have been starving as a result of this regime's corruption, but have a true opportunity to get back on track and improve their livelihood. And I think it's also good for those who partner with us in this process, because there's a lot to be done that will be win-win, as opposed to be lose-lose to the benefit of this corrupt regime that has been the story of the past almost five decades. So the difference lies in this change and how crucial it is. And of course, the reason we want to have a secular democracy, the final form to be determined by the people of Iran through pre-elections and a constitutional process, but most importantly is that under equality and the rule of law, all the opportunities that has been denied our nation as a result of its discrimination, as a result of pretty much disenfranchising the majority of Iranians, now it creates a true opportunity. And as I said earlier, I think Iranians are quite gifted. As much as it is attractive to entrepreneurs in the outside world looking in, there are so many gifted and talented young Iranians who will have a fair chance this time, a true chance for being using all their creativity and genius to bring our country back online. This will be an excellent, fantastic partnership that we're looking forward to.