Exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi Applauds Iranians for ‘Ultimate Heroism’ in Lion and Sun Revolution

Washington: Iran’s Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who is currently in exile, has praised the bravery of the freedom-seeking Iranians who took part in what has been called the Lion and Sun Revolution, calling their deeds the “ultimate praise of heroism.”

The Iranian diaspora is the main force behind the Lion and Sun Revolution (2025–2026), a protest movement that uses the country’s pre-1979 flag as a primary symbol of opposition to the current Islamic Republic.

In an interview with News channel ‘ 60 Minutes program, the Crown Prince emphasised a particular episode that has grown to be a potent symbol of the movement for him.

Reza Pahlavi said

“A firefighter was killed while caring to a wounded person who had been shot in the street—this is the height of bravery. “I see the image as a symbol,” Pahlavi remarked.

The remarks are made while the exiled leader keeps an eye on the current state of affairs in Iran from overseas. In the wake of recent escalations in the area, he has repeatedly called for a shift to a secular democracy.

After Iran’s Assembly of Experts appointed a new Supreme Leader, Pahlavi on Monday urged the military of the Islamic Republic to put down their weapons and stand with the Iranian people against the current government, promising a place in a “free Iran” for those who support the people now.

Pahlavi said in a post on X that the Iranian people generally support US and Israeli efforts to undermine the Islamic Republic’s security system while charging the government with exploiting citizens as “human shields.”The Iranian people broadly endorse the American and Israeli determination to destroy the Revolutionary Guards and the Islamic Republic’s terror infrastructure,” the exiled crown prince wrote in his essay.

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“It is a crime against humanity for the current leadership to exploit Iranians as human shields. Civilians’ safety and the preservation of Iran’s essential national infrastructure must continue to be top priorities, he continued.

The exiled crown prince urged officers and troops in Iran’s armed forces to support the people instead of the ruling class.Iran’s armed forces should surrender their weapons and unite with the populace. “There will be a place for you in a free Iran if you do,” Pahlavi continued.

The remark follows the announcement on Sunday by Iran’s Assembly of Experts, the clerical body in charge of choosing the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader, that the late leader’s son, 56-year-old cleric Mojtaba Khamenei, had been appointed to the role.

Following the Islamic Revolution of 1979, Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei—who is reportedly more conservative than his father—was named Iran’s third Supreme Leader.

An important turning point in the political and religious leadership of the Islamic Republic was reached with the statement, which came after days of discussion by the nation’s Assembly of Experts.

Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei was elected as the third Leader of the holy system of the Islamic Republic of Iran by a decisive vote, according to a formal announcement from the clerical body responsible for choosing the country’s supreme leader.

Mojtaba Khamenei is the second son of the late Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, who was Iran’s supreme leader for almost forty years. He was born in Mashhad in 1969.

Following the death of 86-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in combined US and Israeli military operations on Iran on February 28, tensions in West Asia have increased. A number of senior Islamic Republic figures were also murdered in the strikes.