Reza Pahlavi Vows to 'Make Iran Great Again' at CPAC 2026

Reza Pahlavi, the self-styled crown prince of Iran, has made a bold appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Texas, where he pledged to 'make Iran great again' and received a raucous welcome from the audience.

Pahlavi, who has become a central opposition figure in the Iranian diaspora, urged US President Donald Trump not to cut a deal with Iran and instead seek regime change, aligning himself with the administration's most hawkish figures.

“Can you imagine Iran going from ‘Death to America’ to ‘God Bless America’?” Pahlavi asked his audience in Grapevine, Texas, receiving a standing ovation with his remarks.

“President Trump is making America great again. I intend to make Iran great again,” he added, echoing Trump's famous slogan.

The speech comes amid a war between the US and Israel against Iran, which has resulted in at least 1,937 deaths and tens of thousands of injuries in Iran, with no end to the fighting in sight.

Pahlavi has emerged as an outspoken supporter of Trump, and his appearance at CPAC highlights the divisions within the US right over the war in Iran.

While some in the Iranian diaspora have expressed reservations about the US-Israeli attacks, Pahlavi has called for the Iranian regime to be overthrown, saying, “This regime in its entirety must go.”

Analysts have warned that the Iranian government is unlikely to collapse and could emerge from the conflict more hardened than before, but Pahlavi remains a central figure in the opposition movement.