Khamenei is like frightened rat, time to reclaim Iran: Exiled prince Reza Pahlavi
Amid a spiralling conflict with Israel and deepening unrest at home, exiled Iranian crown prince Reza Pahlavi has issued a call for regime change in Tehran, declaring that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has "gone into hiding underground" and that the Islamic Republic is "in the process of collapsing.""The Islamic Republic has reached its end," Pahlavi said in a social media post. "What has begun is irreversible. The future is bright, and together, we will pass through this sharp turn in history."advertisementHis remarks come as anti-regime sentiment mounts across Iran in the wake of airstrikes and political turmoil. Pahlavi, son of the late Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, is urging Iranians to rise up from "Bandar Abbas to Bandar Anzali, from Shiraz to Isfahan," in what he says is the final chapter of the Islamic Republic.KHAMENEI IS LIKE A FRIGHTENED RAT, SAYS PAHLAVI
He portrayed Khamenei as a weakened, panicked leader: "Khamenei, like a frightened rat, has gone into hiding underground and has lost control of the situation."
"The end of the Islamic Republic is the end of its 46-year war against the Iranian nation," Pahlavi said.advertisementThe exiled royal also appealed directly to Iran's military and security personnel, many of whom he claims are already reaching out to him privately. "Do not sacrifice yourselves for a decaying regime," he wrote. "By standing with the people, you can save your lives. Play a historic role in the transition."The Islamic Republic has come to its end and is collapsing. What has begun is irreversible. The future is bright, and together we will turn the page of history. Now is the time to stand up; the time to reclaim Iran. May I be with you soon. pic.twitter.com/qrbnDmf8SX— Reza Pahlavi (@PahlaviReza) June 17, 2025Pahlavi assured Iranians that a post-regime future has been mapped out, rejecting fears of civil war or chaos. "We have a plan for Iran's future and its flourishing," he said. "We are prepared for the first hundred days after the fall... for the establishment of a national and democratic government — by the Iranian people and for the Iranian people.""A free and flourishing Iran lies ahead of us. May we be together soon," Pahlavi concluded.WILL US JOIN ISRAELI STRIKES ON IRANIAN NUCLEAR SITES?As the conflict between Israel and Iran enters its fifth day, US President Donald Trump is carefully weighing the United States' possible responses. With tensions escalating rapidly, Trump is consulting with his national security team to consider various options to join Israel's ongoing strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, according to US media reports.Tune InMust Watch
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
7 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Israel's spy agency used AI and smuggled-in drones to prepare attack on Iran
Israel stunned and hobbled Iran last week when it pulled off an intelligence and military operation years in the making that struck high-level targets with precision. This account is based on conversations with 10 current and former Israeli intelligence and military officials, some of whom spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss clandestine operations. It was not possible to independently verify some of their claims. But the former head of research at Israel's spy agency, the Mossad, confirmed the basic contours of the attack, saying she had inside knowledge of how it was planned and executed. 'This attack is the culmination of years of work by the Mossad to target Iran's nuclear program,' said Sima Shine, the former Mossad research director who is now an analyst at the Institute for National Security Studies. Israel's element of surprise was enhanced by Iranian officials' apparent assumption that Israel wouldn't attack while talks over its rapidly advancing nuclear program were ongoing with the U.S. A sixth round of talks had been planned for last Sunday in Oman, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu activated 'Operation Rising Lion' on Friday – after his country first notified President Donald Trump. Netanyahu has for years said neutralizing Iran's nuclear program was vital for Israel's security, and Israel had previously taken steps to set back Iran's ability to enrich uranium to weapons grade. But Netanyahu said a more aggressive attack proved necessary, as Iran kept advancing its enrichment program despite U.S. diplomatic efforts and warnings from U.N. watchdogs. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has repeatedly called for Israel's destruction. Iran's political leaders say their nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, though it was the only country without the bomb to enrich uranium close to weapons-grade levels. The Mossad and the military worked together for at least three years to lay the operational groundwork, according to a former intelligence officer who said he had knowledge of the attack. This person spoke on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the subject. The attack built off knowledge Israel gained during a wave of airstrikes last October, which 'highlighted the weakness of Iranian air defenses,' said Naysan Rafati, an Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group. To further diminish Iranian air defenses and missile systems at the start of last week's attack, Mossad agents had smuggled precision weapons into Iran that were prepositioned to strike from close range, according to two current security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the missions. Those weapons included small, armed drones, which agents snuck into the country in vehicles, according to the former intelligence officer. Mossad agents stationed weapons close to Iranian surface-to-air missile sites, Shine said. The agency works with a mix of people, both locals and Israelis, she said. To analyze information it gathered, Israel used the latest artificial-intelligence, or AI, technology, said an intelligence officer involved with selecting individuals and sites to target. He said AI was used to help Israelis quickly sift through troves of data they had obtained. That effort began last October according to the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media; it was one month before Netanyahu said he had ordered the attack plans. An investigation by The Associated Press earlier this year uncovered that the Israeli military uses U.S.-made AI models in war to sift through intelligence and intercept communications to learn the movements of its enemies. It's been used in the wars with Hamas in Gaza and with Hezbollah in Lebanon. The intelligence officer involved in identifying the possible targets said options were first put into various groups, such as leadership, military, civilian and infrastructure. Targets were chosen if they were determined to be a threat to Israel, such as being deeply associated with Iran's Revolutionary Guard — a paramilitary force that controls Iran's ballistic missiles. The officer was tasked with putting together a list of Iranian generals, including details on where they worked and spent their free time. Among the high-level military officials killed since Friday's attack were Gen. Hossein Salami, the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, and Gen. Mohammed Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran's armed forces. In addition to AI, the Mossad relied on spies to identify top nuclear scientists and members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, according to one security official. At least eight members of the Guard, including the head of its missile program, were killed in a single Israeli strike on an underground bunker. Another facet of the attack was to strike Iranian vehicles used to transport and launch missiles. Shine said the strategy was similar to a Ukrainian operation earlier this month in Russia. In that operation, nearly a third of Moscow's strategic bomber fleet was destroyed or damaged with cheaply made drones snuck into Russian territory, according to Ukrainian officials. In an interview with Iranian state-run television, the country's police chief, Gen. Ahmadreza Radan, said 'several vehicles carrying mini-drones and some tactical drones have been discovered.' He added: 'a number of traitors are trying to engage the country's air defense by flying some mini-drones.' The Mossad is believed to have carried out numerous covert attacks on the Iranian nuclear program over the years, including cyberattacks and the killing of Iranian nuclear scientists. But it rarely acknowledges such operations. In the 2000s, Iranian centrifuges used for enriching uranium were destroyed by the so-called Stuxnet computer virus, believed to be an Israeli and American creation. In 2018, Israel stole an archive of Iranian nuclear research that included tens of thousands of pages of records, said Yossi Kuperwasser, a retired general and former military intelligence researcher who now directs the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security. In July 2024, Israel killed a senior leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, with a bomb in a bedroom of a government guesthouse in Tehran. Israel's blistering attack last week on the heart of Iran's nuclear and military structure didn't come out of nowhere, said retired Israeli Brig. Gen. Amir Avivi, who heads the Israel Defense and Security Forum think tank. It was the result of 'Israeli intelligence working extensively for years in Iran and establishing a very strong robust presence,' he said.
Hans India
9 minutes ago
- Hans India
Iranian strikes hit Mossad hq in Israel
Tehran: Missiles launched by Iran have struck various locations across the occupied Palestinian territories, with footage showing the Aman logistics centre—part of the Israeli military intelligence complex in Glilot—still burning following the attack. This comes as the war between the two countries escalate, which led to the death of more than 200 people in Iran and over a dozen Israelis. The Israeli military has attempted to downplay the strikes by highlighting damage to a nearby bus parking lot. However, reports indicate that the missile strikes directly targeted strategic sites, including the Aman logistics facility and the Mossad headquarters in Herzliya. Images that briefly circulated in Hebrew-language media—before being swiftly removed—show the impact site belonged to Israel's military intelligence. The visuals confirm that a highly sensitive security installation was directly hit. According to Hebrew media sources, there is a strong possibility that secret backup sites linked to Israel's Unit 8200—an elite electronic surveillance and intelligence division—were completely destroyed in Herzliya. Meanwhile, Iranian armed forces also warned Israel of a new wave of "fierce attacks" with "new and advanced weapons" that will intensify in the coming hours. The Israel defence forces on Tuesday said that Iran has launched 30 missiles, with some breaching defences. "We will relentlessly pursue our enemies through advanced intelligence capabilities, exploiting emerging opportunities, air superiority, and complex operational planning," it said.
Hans India
11 minutes ago
- Hans India
Israel warns Khamenei will end up like Saddam
Tel Aviv: Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned on Tuesday that Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could face a similar fate of Iraq's Saddam Hussein. 'Remember what happened to the dictator in the neighbouring country of Iran who took this path against Israel,' Katz said. Saddam Hussein was convicted of crimes against humanity —including wilful killing, illegal imprisonment, deportation, and torture — and was sentenced to death by hanging. Saddam's half-brother (an intelligence officer) and Iraq's former chief judge were also sentenced to death. Days after an Iraqi court upheld his sentence in December 2006, Saddam was executed. The threat comes even as a senior US official said that US President Donald Trump had intervened to prevent Israel from carrying out an assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not rule out the possibility when asked about the reports during an interview with ABC News. "It's not going to escalate the conflict, it's going to end the conflict," he said. Netanyahu has insisted that Israel's campaign against Iran was 'changing the face of the Middle East', as the two countries traded heavy strikes for a fifth day. The remarks came hours after a dramatic attack on an Iranian state TV building, which forced a presenter to flee mid-broadcast and prompted a threat of retaliation against Israeli news channels. After decades of enmity and a prolonged shadow war, Israel launched a surprise aerial campaign against Iran last week, with the stated aim of preventing Tehran from acquiring atomic weapons – an ambition it denies. The sudden flare-up has sparked fears of a wider conflict, with US President Donald Trump urging Iran back to the negotiating table after Israel's attacks derailed ongoing nuclear talks.
