Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the last Shah of Iran and Maryland man, said in a video posted Friday that “the pillars of the Islamic Republic regime’s aggression are crumbling” and called on Iran’s Arab neighbors to prepare to recognize him as the leader of a transitional government. “The regime itself is breaking,” he said. “The Iranian people have called on me to lead the transition after the regime is gone. I have accepted that responsibility. Part of their great mandate to me is to return our nation and our foreign relations to normalcy. I will do exactly that.” “My commitment is to ensure the transition is orderly, the country is stabilized, and Iranians determine their future through the ballot box,” he said. “We will not repeat the mistakes of past transitions. We will avoid de-Baathification scenarios and maintain as many bureaucrats and public servants in the transition as possible.” “Iranians have made their choice – at an enormous price. Now I ask our friends in the Arab world to join us. To prepare to recognize and engage our transitional government,” Pahlavi said.

REZA PAHLAVI: The Islamic Republic has launched missiles at the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Jordan, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. It is targeting our Arab neighbors. These violations of their sovereignty are unacceptable and we condemn them. But this is nothing new. This is who the Islamic Republic has always been. And this is why it must end. For nearly five decades, this terrorist regime has sown chaos and bloodshed across our region. It propped up Assad, turning Syria into a graveyard. It planted Hezbollah; as a state within a state in Lebanon. It armed the Houthis to destabilize the Arabian Peninsula. It empowered militias in Iraq that undermine Iraqi sovereignty. It attacked the economic hubs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. None of this has ever been the desire of the Iranian people, but rather that of the regime occupying our country. Now, however, the landscape has fundamentally shifted. Assad is gone. Hezbollah has been decimated. The regime’s military nuclear program has been set back. Its economy is in freefall. The pillars of this regime’s aggression are crumbling. The Iranian people have paid the price, in blood, to reach this moment. The regime massacred at least tens of thousands of my compatriots in just two days. But it didn’t break the people. Instead, the regime itself is breaking. Today, history reminds us of our future potential. Before the revolution, Iran worked closely with Arab leaders – from King Faisal to Sheikh Zayed to King Hussein to President Sadat. In Oman, my father helped Sultan Qaboos defend his country against insurgency. We were true partners then. We will be true partners again. The Iranian people have called on me to lead the transition after the regime is gone. I have accepted that responsibility. Part of their great mandate to me is to return our nation and our foreign relations to normalcy. I will do exactly that. My commitment is to ensure the transition is orderly, the country is stabilized, and Iranians determine their future through the ballot box. We will not repeat the mistakes of past transitions. We will avoid de-Baathification scenarios and maintain as many bureaucrats and public servants in the transition as possible. Iranians have made their choice – at an enormous price. Now I ask our friends in the Arab world to join us. To prepare to recognize and engage our transitional government. We will rebuild our nation not for expansion, but to serve the Iranian people. We will base our diplomatic relations, not on exportation of ideology, but on mutual respect and shared interests. We will reintegrate into the regional and global economy to increase prosperity for the citizens of all of our nations. Standing with the Iranian people is not charity. It is a strategic investment in making our region one of the most stable, secure, and prosperous in the world. Together, we can build a Middle East our children will be proud to inherit. Take this new path with us.

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