From the Liveblog of
Saturday, February 14, 2026
Pahlavi calls on Trump to help the Iranian people: ‘It’s time to end the Islamic Republic’
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The exiled son of Iran’s last shah calls on US President Donald Trump to help the Iranian people and says it is “time to end the Islamic Republic.”
“To President Trump… The Iranian people heard you say help is on the way, and they have faith in you. Help them,” the US-based Reza Pahlavi tells reporters at the Munich Security Conference.
Trump said yesterday that a change of government in Iran would be the “best thing that could happen,” as he sent a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East to ratchet up military pressure on the Islamic Republic.
He had earlier threatened military intervention to support a wave of street protests in Iran that peaked in January and were met by a violent crackdown that rights groups say killed thousands. Trump has since said he could take military action if Tehran does not agree to a nuclear deal.
Pahlavi, who has not returned to Iran since before the 1979 Islamic revolution that ousted the monarchy, says in Munich: “It is time to end the Islamic Republic.”
“This is the demand echoing from the bloodshed of my compatriots who are not asking us to fix the regime but to help them bury it,” he adds.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.