US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that “someone from inside” the Iranian regime may be the best choice to take over once the US-Israeli campaign in the country ends.
Trump said in a speech from the Oval Office Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the deposed Shah of Iran is not someone his administration has seriously considered taking on.
“We thought too much about it. It would seem to me that someone from the inside would be more appropriate; I said that. He seems like a very nice person, but it would seem to me that someone who is there and is popular at the moment. But we have people like that,” Trump answered when asked about Pahlavi.
As for the leaders in Iran, “the people we had in mind are dead,” Trump he said. “I think the worst case scenario would be to do this and then somebody who’s as bad as the last one takes over, right? That could happen,” Trump said. “We don’t want that to happen.
Iran’s leaders are seeking to replace Khamenei, who has ruled the country for 37 years. Regional Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei he was killed during weekend attacks by the US and Israel.
Khamenei’s second son, Mojtaba Hosseini Khameneiis in the spotlight as Iran’s Assembly of Experts has reportedly chosen the 56-year-old as Iran’s new supreme leader, according to multiple reports.
It is the second time since 1979 Islamic Revolution that a new supreme leader is being chosen. Potential candidates range from hardliners committed to confronting the West to reformists seeking diplomatic engagement.
Who is Reza Pahlavi?
Reza Pahlavi was once the crown prince of Iran’s pro-Western monarchy, which collapsed in 1979 after a revolution established the Islamic Republic. The 65-year-old is the son of the last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and has lived in exile in the United States for more than four decades.
Reza was 17 years old when he left for military school in the United States shortly before his father, suffering from cancer, resigned on January 16, 1979.
Although he has no official role in Iran, he has built a symbolic presence among parts of the Iranian diaspora and some Iranians who hope for reform. While he has supported nonviolent change in the country for decades, in recent years he has been calling on Iranians to oppose the regime.
Reza Pahlavi was in the news in December and January during Iran’s anti-government protests. As the unrest spread, he urged Iranians to continue to raise their voices and push for political change in the country.
He seems like a very nice person, but it would seem to me that someone who is there and is popular at the moment.
In a recent interview with 60 Minutes, he stated that “millions of Iranians inside and outside of Iran are calling my name” and he sees him as a transitional leader who can lead the country to free elections and democratic governance.
