Exiled Iranian Prince Says 50,000 Rebels Ready To Fight Regime

At least 50,000 officials from inside Iran’s ruling government and military have registered with a secure platform set up to coordinate the ousting of the dictatorship in Tehran, according to a prominent opponent of the regime.

Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the last shah of Iran, who was deposed in the 1979 revolution, announced a month ago that he was creating the channel for regime defectors to register and receive information on campaign tactics from his opposition movement.

Speaking to POLITICO, he said the numbers still needed to be fully verified but his team were working to establish links with key elements in Iran’s military, paramilitary and security forces, who would play a potential role toppling Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and working to establish a new secular state.

“There’s tens of thousands — the last estimate is over 50,000 at least, maybe more,” Pahlavi, whose supporters refer to him as Iran’s “crown prince,” said in a telephone interview. “Every week we have additional numbers coming. Clearly we have to analyze the data, it’s an arduous process — it will take some time — but the signals are quite strong. We have received [a] tremendous […] response, and of course we are giving top priority to key elements within those designated segments that I mentioned.”

He said a separate website will be launched for ordinary Iranian citizens to register their interest in joining the national campaign against the regime.

Pahlavi was speaking to POLITICO as he prepared to convene a conference of at least 500 opposition supporters, including activists, artists and athletes, in Munich on Saturday. He says the conference will be one of the most diverse gatherings of anti-regime movements ever held outside the country since the revolution.