Son of ousted shah receives raucous applause at CPAC as he urges Trump to 'stay the course' against Iran

The exiled son of Iran’s last shah, Reza Pahlavi, earns thunderous applause from a packed conference hall of US conservatives as he urges Washington to press its military campaign against Tehran.

Speaking to a raucous audience in Texas, Pahlavi casts the war as a historic opportunity to topple Iran’s clerical leadership, drawing cheers with a vision of his country transformed from an adversary of the United States into an ally.

“Can you imagine Iran going from ‘death to America’ to ‘God Bless America?'” he asks the audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference in the Dallas suburbs, prompting one of several standing ovations.

The 65-year-old son of Iran’s last shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, has lived in exile since the 1979 Islamic Revolution toppled the US-backed monarchy and ushered in the current system of clerical rule.

He has long positioned himself as a unifying figure for Iran’s fragmented opposition, and tells supporters he is ready to lead a democratic transition.

“President Trump is making America great again. I intend to make Iran great again,” he says, drawing prolonged applause.

The warm reception for Pahlavi underscores the extent to which parts of the conservative movement have rallied behind President Donald Trump’s military campaign against Iran — a shift that sits uneasily with the “America First” instinct to avoid foreign entanglements.

Pahlavi urges the United States to “stay the course” and “pave the way for the Iranian people to finish the job,” arguing that only the complete collapse of the Islamic Republic could bring lasting stability.

“This regime in its entirety must go,” he says.

His message aligns closely with the most hawkish voices in Trump’s coalition, who argue that sustained pressure could trigger an uprising inside Iran.

“Iran’s story is not yet finished,” Pahlavi says. “Great civilizations outlast even the most vicious occupiers.”

Trump himself skipped CPAC — an annual conference that typically takes place in Washington — for the first time in a decade, with officials citing his busy schedule amid the Iran war.