The son of Iran's late former shah said Friday he is convinced the Islamic Republic will fall due to mass protests and called for international intervention.
"The Islamic Republic will fall, not tomorrow, but when I return to Iran," Reza Pahlavi said at a press conference in Washington.
Pahlavi has lived in exile in the United States since the 1979 Islamic revolution ousted his pro-Western father from power.
Many protesters chanted Pahlavi's name in the massive protests that swept across Iran, which the regime in Tehran violently suppressed. At least 2,572 people have been killed in the crackdown, according to human rights organizations, although some sources claim the death toll could reach 15,000.
Pahlavi said he wants to serve as a key figure to lead a transition to a secular democracy, despite critics.
Pahlavi has repeatedly sought the intervention of US President Donald Trump, who has not acted despite several warnings to Tehran.
"The Iranian people are taking decisive action on the ground. Now is the time for the international community to fully join them," Pahlavi said.
He called on the international community to "protect the Iranian people by degrading the regime's repressive capacity, including targeting the leadership of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its command and control infrastructure."
He also called on all countries to expel diplomats of the Islamic Republic.
Pahlavi issued a call for protests on January 8, which the Iranian government has since used as a legal turning point.
Iran's Justice Minister said this week that merely being on the streets after that date is now considered a criminal act, arguing that the situation had shifted from "protest" to "internal conflict."
Trump said on Wednesday that he had been told by "good authorities" that plans for executions in Iran had been halted, although Tehran has hinted that there will be speedy trials and executions as part of its crackdown on protesters.
