Ayatollah's nephew calls for regime's fall: No peace without disappearance

As the Israel-Iran war enters its second week, one voice from within the ruling family of Iran is offering a shocking perspective to dismantling the regime — by any means necessary.

Mahmoud Moradkhani, the exiled nephew of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in an interview on Wednesday from his home in northern France that while he is no supporter of the war, he believes the collapse of the Islamic Republic is the only path to real peace.

"Anything that makes this regime disappear is necessary," Moradkhani said. "Now that we are at this stage, it has to be done."

Moradkhani, who fled Iran in 1986 and has remained a vocal critic of his uncle’s authoritarian rule, added that the military confrontation with Israel is regrettable — but inevitable under a regime unwilling to bend or reform, reports Reuters.

"I am deeply sad, and I regret that it has come to this... but will killing Khamenei make the regime disappear immediately? That’s another question," Moradkhani said.

Moradkhani said he had lost contact with his network in Iran due to an internet blackout but believed “many Iranians were happy” to see signs of the regime weakening. "The sooner this is finished, the better," he said. "It has to end with the disappearance of the Islamic Republic. Otherwise, it will be a useless defeat, and I still think this regime will take revenge," Moradkhani said.

Tensions escalated further as US President Donald Trump demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender” and openly mused about killing Khamenei in social media posts. Aides say the president has privately approved military options targeting Iranian nuclear infrastructure, though he has withheld a final order.

EXILED PRINCE REZA PAHLAVI CALLS KHAMENEI A FRIGHTENED RAT

Earlier, Reza Pahlavi, son of the late Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, had issued a call for regime change in Tehran, declaring that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has "gone into hiding underground" and that the Islamic Republic is "in the process of collapsing."

"The Islamic Republic has reached its end," Pahlavi said in a social media post. "What has begun is irreversible. The future is bright, and together, we will pass through this sharp turn in history."

He portrayed Khamenei as a weakened, panicked leader: "Khamenei, like a frightened rat, has gone into hiding underground and has lost control of the situation."

"The end of the Islamic Republic is the end of its 46-year war against the Iranian nation," Pahlavi said.

Israel and Iran traded missile strikes at each other for the seventh consecutive day. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected Trump's demand for unconditional surrender and Iranians jammed highways out of the capital Tehran, a city of 10 million people, as residents sought sanctuary from intensified Israeli airstrikes.

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