US President Donald Trump spoke about the chances of exiled son of Iran’s toppled Shah, Reza Pahlavi, becoming the leader of the country after the death of the nation’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. Trump reportedly said that he preferred that someone from within Iran take charge.
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Trump on Reza Pahlavi becoming Iranian leader
“Some people like him, and we haven’t been thinking too much about that. It would seem to me that somebody from within, maybe, would be more appropriate,” he was quoted as saying by CNN.
Trump said that “he looks like a very nice person”, adding that “somebody that’s there, that’s popular, if there’s such a person” would be a better choice as the leader of the country.
Reza, the son of the last Shah of Iran, positioned himself as an alternative after the US-Israeli strikes on Iran killed Khamenei.
What message did Reza Pahlavi give to people of Iran recently
US-based Reza entered the global spotlight during nationwide protests that peaked in January, where many demonstrators chanted slogans favourable to the former shah’s son.
In an X post on Tuesday, the 65-year-old called for national unity. A part of his post read, “From the very first day of the Islamic Republic’s rise to power until now, you have been subjected to the wrath, torment, and persecution of this despotic and criminal regime—without ever submitting.
Over the past 47 years, especially in the National Revolution of the Lion and Sun, you have offered dozens of immortal souls to the path of freedom and the reclamation of our country.”
“I assure you that I will exert my utmost efforts so that, on the morrow of Iran’s liberation, with the establishment of a government based on the separation of religion from state, grounded in the rule of law and equal citizenship rights, you will no longer face discrimination. You will be able to live freely, just like any other Iranian, while preserving your identity, and justly benefit from the blessings of a free Iran,” he added.
US-Israeli attacks on Iran
Israel stepped up airstrikes on Iranian missile launchers and factories on Tuesday, and Iran retaliated against Israel and across the Gulf region, disrupting energy supplies and travel.
As explosions rang out in Tehran and in Lebanon — where Israel said it struck Hezbollah militants — the American embassy in Saudi Arabia came under drone attack.
Iran has fired dozens of ballistic missiles at Israel, setting off air raid sirens across the country.
The pace of the attacks appeared to be slowing and Israel has intercepted most of the incoming fire, but some missiles have landed, killing 11 people.
