News Flash
MUNICH, Germany, Feb 14, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - The exiled son of Iran's last shah
called on US President Donald Trump on Saturday to help the Iranian people, a
day after the American leader said a change of power would be the "best
thing".
US-based Reza Pahlavi, who has not returned to Iran since before the 1979
Islamic revolution that ousted the monarchy, added it was "time to end the
Islamic republic" while speaking to reporters at the Munich Security
Conference.
The opposition figure has urged Iranians at home and abroad to continue
demonstrations against the authorities, calling on them to chant slogans from
their homes and rooftops at 8:00 pm on Saturday and Sunday, to coincide with
protests in Germany and elsewhere.
Trump had said Friday 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.
"To President Trump... The Iranian people heard you say help is on the way,
and they have faith in you. Help them," Pahlavi told reporters 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 added.
Also on Saturday, Canada issued additional sanctions against Iran.
The seven "individuals sanctioned today are linked to Iranian state bodies
responsible for intimidation, violence and transnational repression targeting
Iranian dissidents and human rights defenders", Ottawa said in a statement.
- Iranian opposition divided -
When Iran began its crackdown on protests, Trump initially said the United
States was "locked and loaded" to help demonstrators.
But he has recently focused his military threats on Tehran's nuclear
programme, which US forces struck last July during Israel's unprecedented 12-
day war with Iran.
Representatives of Iran and the United States, who have had no diplomatic
relations since shortly after the 1979 revolution, held talks on the nuclear
programme last week in Oman.
According to the Axios news outlet, the two sides are due to hold another
round of negotiations in Geneva on Tuesday.
Videos verified by AFP showed people in Iran this week chanting anti-
government slogans despite the ongoing crackdown, as the clerical leadership
celebrated the anniversary of the Islamic revolution.
According to US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, 7,008 people,
mostly protesters, were killed in the crackdown, though rights groups warn
the toll is likely far higher.
More than 53,000 people have been arrested, it added.
Pahlavi had encouraged Iranians to join the wave of protests, which Iranian
authorities have said were hijacked by "terrorists" fuelled by their sworn
enemies the United States and Israel.
Many protest chants had called for the monarchy's return, and Pahlavi, 65,
has said he is ready to lead a democratic transition.
The Iranian opposition remains divided and Pahlavi has faced criticism for
his support for Israel, making a highly publicised visit in 2023 that
fractured an attempt to unify opposition camps. He has also never distanced
himself from his father's autocratic rule.
Trump declined on Friday to say who he would want to take over in Iran from
supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but he added that "there are people".
