Regime Change Now: Iran Exile Leader’s Open Letter to Netanyahu

Dear Prime Minister Netanyahu,

We, members of the Iranian democratic opposition and the allied prodemocracy organizations, write to you at a moment of profound consequences for both our nations and the future of the Middle East. We commend your commitment to defending the state of Israel against all the existential threats. As you are keenly aware, the true and enduring danger is not simply Iran’s nuclear ambitions or its missile arsenal—it is the regime that wields them. The foundation of the Islamic Republic is based on opposition to the world order, and as long as in power, it will continue to mobilize its resources to threaten Israel’s security, destabilize the region, and suppress its own people.

No amount of economic pressure or diplomatic isolation has altered the regime’s fundamental hostility. For this reason, any durable solution must address the root cause: the continued existence of the Islamic Republic itself. We believe that any military engagement with the regime should be designed not merely to weaken it, but to support the Iranian people in their struggle to bring about its end. If the regime survives this attack, they will massacre Iranian people, similar to Saddam Hussain’s massacres against Iraqi people’s uprisings after the first Gulf war.

The people of Iran—secular, courageous, and deeply opposed to the clerical rule—are your most natural allies in the effort to eliminate this threat. They need your government’s strategic support by including in your targets the ayatollah’s instruments of suppression in Iran’s major cities. Empowering them to resist the regime from within is both a strategic and moral imperative. To that end, we urge you to consider targeted measures that would materially strengthen the capacity of Iranians to defend themselves and organize against the regime’s forces.

Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi is the most suitable and best leader to save the Iranian people and Iran from these clerics.

We understand the gravity of such a proposal and do not make it lightly. But the stakes are historic. A free Iran would not only end the Islamic Republic’s campaign of terror—it would realign the region around peace, stability, and security for all. With this vision and coordination, Israel and a democratic Iran can emerge as twin cornerstones of a new Middle East.

We respectfully request that you consider this course of action. It is time for Ali Khamenei to take the same medicine of pain and misery that he brought upon the Iranian and Israeli people.

With deep respect, solidarity, and faith in the triumph of light over darkness,

Dr. Iman Foroutan