Son of last shah calls on Trump to 'help' Iranian people

Many protest chants had called for the monarchy's return, and Pahlavi, 65, has said he is ready to lead a democratic transition

The exiled son of Iran's last shah called on US President Donald Trump on Saturday to help the Iranian people and said it was "time to end the Islamic republic".

"To President Trump... The Iranian people heard you say help is on the way, and they have faith in you. Help them," the US-based Reza Pahlavi told reporters at the Munich Security Conference.

Trump had said Friday that a change of government in Iran would be the "best thing that could happen", as he sent a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East to ratchet up military pressure on the Islamic republic.

He had earlier threatened military intervention to support a wave of street protests in Iran that peaked in January and were met by a violent crackdown that rights groups say killed thousands.

Pahlavi, who has not returned to Iran since before the 1979 Islamic revolution that ousted the monarchy, said in Munich: "It is time to end the Islamic republic."

"This is the demand echoing from the bloodshed of my compatriots who are not asking us to fix the regime but to help them bury it," he added.

Pahlavi had encouraged Iranians to join the wave of protests, which Iranian authorities have said were hijacked by "terrorists" fuelled by their sworn enemies the United States and Israel.

Many protest chants had called for the monarchy's return, and Pahlavi, 65, has said he is ready to lead a democratic transition.

The Iranian opposition remains divided and Pahlavi has faced criticism for his support for Israel, making a highly publicised visit in 2023 that fractured an attempt to unify opposition camps. He has also never distanced himself from his father's autocratic rule.