Reza Pahlavi: Iran to have elections, close ties with Israel

Pahlavi addressed fears of the US establishing an extended, resource-draining military presence in Iran as it did in Iraq in the early 2000s following the assassination of Saddam Hussein.

The crown prince explicitly assured Washington Post readers that “Iran is not Iraq. We will not repeat the mistakes that followed that conflict.”

To his point, Pahlavi touted the Iran Prosperity Project, his plan for a smooth transition back into power, which he described as a “detailed road map for national recovery.”

This, he claimed, would bypass the issue of a power vacuum in Iran, avoiding the trigger that kept US troops in Iraq for many years.

“Many Iranians, often despite facing bullets, have called on me to lead this transition,” Pahlavi wrote, expressing his intention to assume leadership of Iran. “I have answered their call,” he added.

Iran, he wrote, will draft and ratify a new constitution before holding “free elections under international oversight.”

Pahlavi added that the new government would immediately recognize and establish relations with the State of Israel – a move which would “transform the Middle East.”

Pahlavi expressed immense gratitude to US President Donald Trump for his role in the operation and for his words of encouragement to Iran’s citizens.

In the last two months, he wrote, Iranian citizens have been slaughtered by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, and “called on the free world to stand with them.”

Pahlavi went on to praise Trump’s “moral clarity and decisive action” in withdrawing from the Joint Plan of Action, an “irresponsible nuclear plan,” during his first term in 2018.

“Trump will be remembered as the leader who stood with [the Iranian people] when it mattered most,” Pahlavi wrote.

“God bless America. Long live Iran.”