Khamenei Wafat, Raza Pahlavi: This is the Beginning of National Celebration, Not the End of Everything

Reza Pahlavi. (Wikimedia Commons/Jeff Song/FDD)

JAKARTA - Iranian opposition figure Reza Pahlavi said the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was a

"With his death, the Islamic Republic has essentially reached its end and will soon be thrown into the trash can of history," Pahlavi wrote in a social media post on X, CNN reported (1/3).

Iran's last Shah's eldest son Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who lives in the United States and often tries to position himself as Tehran's de facto leader, said any attempt to appoint a successor to Khamenei "is doomed to fail from the start."

"This may be the beginning of our great national celebration, but it is not the end of everything," Pahlavi said, addressing the Iranian people.

Although Pahlavi managed to rally hundreds of thousands of opposition demonstrators around the world, critics say he is a divisive figure rather than unifying.

Support for the deposed monarchy is taboo in Iran, a criminal offense, and a sentiment long condemned by a society that staged a popular uprising to overthrow the Shah's dictatorship.

As previously reported, Israel and the United States launched an attack on the capital Tehran and a number of cities in Iran on Saturday.

Quoted from ABC, the United States dubbed the operation "Operation Epic Fury" while Israel called it "Operation Roaring Lion."

Iran has confirmed Khamenei's death and declared a 40-day mourning period, vowing to retaliate for the attack.

Last month, Reza said his party was preparing a plan for a power transition for Iran through the Iran Prosperity Project, with stages of constitutional change and national elections after the "removal" of the current ruling authority.

In an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Pahlavi confirmed that his party had long prepared for this scenario.

Pahlavi said there would be no power vacuum as the initial phase of the plan would focus on emergency measures during the first 180 days to ensure continuity of public services and security.

The next phase is the stabilization phase, which includes the restoration of state functions, the provision of basic services, the restoration of economic confidence, and maintaining basic governance.

After that, he said, Iran will enter a constitutional process that will end with national elections.

Pahlavi said the Iran Prosperity Project also provides a roadmap for Iran's economic recovery and reintegration into the international community.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump last month said Reza "looks very good" but expressed uncertainty over whether Pahlavi would be able to gather support inside Iran to eventually take power.

In an exclusive interview with Reuters in the Oval Office, President Trump said there was a possibility that the Iranian clerical government could collapse.

President Trump has not given his full support to Pahlavi, the son of the late Shah of Iran, who was ousted from power in 1979.

"He seems very nice, but I don't know how he would do in his own country," President Trump said.

"And we haven't actually gotten to that point yet," he continued.

"I don't know if his country will accept his leadership or not, and of course if they accept it, it will be fine for me," said President Trump.

Pahlavi, 65, who is based in the US, has lived outside Iran since before his father was ousted in the 1979 Revolution and has been a leading voice in the protests.

Iran's opposition is fragmented among competing groups and ideological factions - including monarchists who supported the Pahlavi - and appears to have little organized presence inside Iran.