In the event of the dreadful Islamist regime of Iran’s inevitable fall, the Iranian diaspora some Iranians are increasingly rallying around Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi as the next Iranian leader. This makes sense, as Pahlavi is the sole heir to Iran’s arguably illegally dismantled Constitutional Monarchy, under the last democratically assembled government fought for in the Constitutional Revolution of 1906. This document created a parliament, created the separation of powers, curbed the role of the Monarch, and placed limits on the power of the Shia clergy. It also gave specific rights to equal citizenship for women and religious minorities. In the face of the Khamenei regime’s increasing barbarity and militancy, and the increase in the scope of popular revolts against the current regime in Iran, Pahlavi has increasingly come to be seen by many Iranian people as a legitimate figurehead to unify them towards accomplishing a transition to democracy.

This was my belief when I began advocating for Pahlavi’s policy of “maximum pressure” on the regime in 2023. I too, believed that transition to democracy in Iran would need maximum international pressure on the regime, so I joined an advocacy organization that made calls to Congress, attended rallies, and engaged on social media. Another reason I chose to lobby for the Crown Prince’s maximum pressure policy towards the regime was that up to that point, the only prominent Iranian voices on Capitol Hill were the Iranian regime’s lobby, the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) and other Islamist groups such as the Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK). I worked nearly full time in this unpaid position that I took up most willingly, in order to save my compatriots from the hellish regime in Iran.

Like many others, I also held hopes that the........

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