
Ayatollah is planning to FLEE Iran, exiled prince claims as he warns of more bloodshed if regime is allowed to survive
Katie Davis, in Paris
Published: Invalid Date,
IRAN'S exiled crown prince today warned the bloodthirsty Ayatollah is plotting to flee as his terror-stoking reign is "collapsing".
Reza Pahlavi also urged the West not to "throw Iran 's corrupt regime" a lifeline - or face more bloodshed.
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Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been in hiding since war broke out between Israel and Iran - and is understood to be holed up in a bunker.
But Pahlavi, the son of Iran's final shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, today said the barbaric leader and senior regime generals are plotting to escape the country.
He also urged Western countries not to allow the regime "to survive" - describing it as Iran's " Berlin wall moment".
Speaking in Paris, the prince said: "But like all moments of great change, it comes with danger.
"We stand at a crossroads. One road leads to bloodshed and chaos. The other to a peaceful and democratic transition.
"The difference in these two roads depends on one factor and one factor alone.
"If the West throws the regime a lifeline, there will be more bloodshed and chaos because the regime will not stop or surrender after it has been humiliated."
Pahlavi warned nowhere in the world will be safe as long as the Ayatollah's regime remains in power.
He added: "No country, no people are safe whether its on the streets of Washington, Paris, Jerusalem, Riyadh or Tehran."
Pahlavi today announced he has offered to "help our great nation navigate through this critical hour towards stability" - but insisted he does not seek political power.
It comes as Donald Trump last night hinted at regime change in Iran after unleashing US military might on nuclear sites on Sunday.
The US president said: "If the current Iranian regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be regime change? MIGA!".
Pahlavi, 64, left Iran in 1979 after the Islamic Revolution saw his father toppled from power.
He has spent most of his time living in the US with his wife and three daughters - and is a leading voice in the call for regime change in Iran.
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It comes as Iran has vowed revenge after Trump blitzed critical nuclear sites after a week of trading blows with Israel.
Trump hailed Operation Midnight Hammer as a "bullseye" that caused "monumental damage" to Iran's doomsday plot.
Conflict in the Middle East now sits on a knife edge as it threatens to spiral and draw in other countries.
The bloodthirsty Iranian regime has today deployed a fresh barrage of missiles against Israel as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei continues to cower in hiding.
Who was the Shah?
By Annabel Bate, Foreign News Reporter
THE last Shah of Iran was Mohammad Reza Pahlav i.
He ruled from 1941 to 1979, having succeeded his dad Reza Shah.
Mohammad Reza had a pro-Western foreign policy and encouraged economic development in the nation.
What led to his downfall initially however was 1963 The White Revolution - a series of social, political and economic reforms that Mohammad Reza initiated.
This looked to both modernise and westernise Iran.
But the reforms were perceived as controversial and led to some resistance from various religious and political factions.
On February 11, 1979, Iran's army declared its neutrality, paving the way for the fall of US-backed Shah Mohammad Reza.
He died in exile in Egypt in 1980.
Israel launched a fresh round of missile strikes on Iran's Fordow nuclear site - blowing up access roads to the uranium plant.
Significant damage has likely been caused to the plant and the sensitive machinery it houses by the US' bombing, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.
Iran claimed to have moved much of the nuclear material away from the site before the strikes.
In bombing access routes, Israel could have made it more difficult to return anything that was removed.
Iran is now desperately trying to recruit its allies and the supreme leader has sent his foreign minister to Moscow.
In a televised meeting, Vlad slammed Trump's airstrikes as "unprovoked aggression" and said he was helping Iran.
The Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi was also set to deliver a letter from the supreme leader, sources said.
It comes as Vlad's man at the UN has warned that America has opened "Pandora's box" and that "no one knows what new catastrophes and suffering it will bring".
And elsewhere, the IDF targeted Iran's "Destruction of Israel" clock in this morning's strikes, according to Defence Minister Israel Katz.
The clock was erected in Palestine Square in Tehran in 2017, and supposedly counts down to the elimination of Israel - one of the regime's official goals - by 2040.
Katz listed the clock amongst various other targets responsible for "maintaining the regime's stability" as momentum towards regime change picks up.
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IRAN'S repressed nation should be encouraged to overthrow its barbaric regime by the US, an ex-Congress adviser said. Calls for regime overhaul in the rogue nation have rumbled louder since a 12-day war broke out between Israel and Iran erupted. 7 7 7 Donald Trump unleashed the biggest blow of the conflict last Sunday when he ordered America's military to bomb Iran's nuclear sites. The US leader even hinted at toppling the regime as he wrote on Truth Social: "If the current Iranian regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn't there be a regime change? MIGA!". Authorities in the US insisted ousting the Ayatollah was not one of its goals - but question marks hang over whether his cruel regime can survive. Supreme leader Ali Khamenei has led a blood-soaked reign over Iran since 1989 following the death of his ruthless predecessor Ruhollah Khomeini. 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'If you take it from the Iranian people's perspective, there's no prospect of getting sanctions relief, they're in a war with Israel with no air defense. Evil Ayatollah could unleash dirty bomb, exiled prince warns Exclusive by Katie Davis, Chief Foreign Reporter (Digital), in Paris IRAN'S brutal regime could kill tens of millions of people by smuggling nuclear material and unleashing it on Europe, the rogue nation's exiled prince told The Sun. Reza Pahlavi warned while the US and Israel have eliminated the "immediate threat" of its atomic ambitions, barbaric leaders could still acquire a dirty bomb. Pahlavi, the son of Iran's last Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, warned callous Ayatollah Ali Khamenei could still attempt to utilise his warped allies in a bid to get his hands on nuclear matter. Speaking to The Sun at an undisclosed location in Paris just hours before the ceasefire this week, he said: "Terrorism has many means of hurting big time. Nobody anticipated 9/11. It was a terrorist attack. "What keeps people not to worry about the fact that the call of these terrorist networks of sleeper cells could smuggle in a few grams of enriched plutonium, throw it in a lake in Europe, and instantaneously kill tens of millions of people who will be radioactively attacked. "You don't need a missile or warhead for that. "We have at least eliminated the imminent threat of the regime. Does that mean that the regime still doesn't have the capability to acquire nuclear weapons or a dirty bomb by purchasing it from the North Koreans? "It doesn't eliminate that, that's the entire point." Pahlavi, whose family was forced to leave Iran after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, warned unless the Islamist regime is toppled, the threat of nuclear material being weaponised looms large. The self-styled crown prince - who has been advocating for regime change for decades - announced on Monday he is offering to lead a transitional government to make Iran a democratic, secular country. 'The regime has now brought them into a war with the United States, although that may not continue. I think the people can only take so much.' Last week the US bombed nuclear sites in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan after Iran's devastating missile exchange with Israel. President Donald Trump has since announced a precarious ceasefire, but the world continues to nervously await what happens next. While Iran is currently in a ceasefire with Israel, fears continue to grow as to how long this will last. Trump was this week hailed a 'daddy' by Nato chief Mark Rutte at a landmark meeting in the Netherlands. Iran also finally admitted the US strikes had left their nuclear facilities 'badly damaged'. But it came after Trump made the astonishing claim on Tuesday that Israel and Iran 'don't know what the f*** they're doing' following doubts the agreement had been kept. Katzman believes Iran is very far away from developing a nuclear weapon. And even if it did get one, it would be extremely difficult for it to ever threaten a launch given US and Israeli intelligence. He added: 'I think US intelligence is good enough to detect if they were actually going to try to use a nuclear weapon. 'You need a lot of steps to do that. It's not that easy to conceal, especially with the Mossad agents crawling all over the place as they are right now. 'There are radioactivity detectors. There's a lot of intelligence gathering going on. 'So I don't think it would be that easy for them to just go from where they are now with these destroyed facilities to suddenly producing a nuclear weapon. 'I could be wrong, but I don't think it's that easy.' Asked how the Iranian people could conceivably overthrow the regime, Katzman said he doesn't expect anything to happen soon. 7 7 7 He believes the conflict must settle first. Katzman added: 'It can be toppled. Is it close to being toppled? No, but it can be. 'Anything can really spark it. We had a partial prison break at Evin Prison. 'You can get incidents. I hear the IRGC is already cracking down by stopping every car that goes by to see if there are Mossad agents in there. 'They're sort of doubling down on their strategy in a way. That can work for a while, but the population is pretty fed up. 'Obviously the population has to get through this crisis first and then it can reassess what to do about the regime. 'So it's not going to do anything right now while the conflict is going on, but ultimately though, there's going to be a reckoning.' On Wednesday Nato leaders pledged to increase their annual defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP by 2035. Trump also said he no longer believes the organisation is a 'rip-off'.