Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi makes new appeal to Trump to weaken ayatollah's regime as killing continues

 

Reza Pahlavi says minimum 36,000 people killed in first two days of protests as anti-government demonstrations continue

Exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi called for "humanitarian intervention" in his country and urgent international measures against Iran’s ruling regime amid protests and reported mass casualties.

Pahlavi appealed to President Donald Trump after Trump said regime change in Iran "would be the best thing that could happen."

The prince listed several measures the U.S. could take to weaken the ayatollah, including neutralizing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), cracking down on "ghost tankers" that secretly transport sanctioned oil and provide revenue to the regime, expelling diplomats or holding them to account for criminal behavior, freezing assets of oligarchs, supporting protesters with internet access and asking for the unconditional release of all political prisoners in Iran.

"These are specific measures... that the world can [take to] put more pressure on the regime, but it will also show much more support to the Iranian people," Pahlavi said on "Sunday Morning Futures."

He hoped those provisions would "expedite the process" of "getting rid of this regime."

"And finally, Iranians can have an opportunity to speak for themselves."

Pahlavi is positioning himself as a transitional leader for a post-regime Iran. He said he would serve to "galvanize and unify... the secular democratic opposition" with the ultimate goal of facilitating "a democratic process that will be completely transparent and under international observation" that would allow Iranians to decide the future of their country.

is comments come as Iran is roiled by anti-government demonstrations and regime retaliation against them. Pahlavi said a minimum of 36,000 people were killed by police in the first two days of protests, though it remains difficult to collect accurate data.