Mohammed bin Salman and the Iranian Moment: A Test of Regional Leadership
Members of The New Iran—supporters of Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi and activists with more than two decades of political engagement inside and outside Iran—hold deep respect for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s leadership in transforming and modernizing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Under his stewardship, Saudi Arabia has undergone changes once considered unimaginable: economic diversification, large-scale infrastructure development, expanded social freedoms, and a forward-looking vision to prepare the Kingdom for the post-oil era. These achievements have improved the quality of life for millions of Saudis and reshaped perceptions of Saudi Arabia across the Middle East and the world.
Still, history does not pause for even the most ambitious reform projects. Today, the Middle East stands at a moment of exceptional urgency—defined by upheaval, opportunity, and irreversible change. Iran is at the threshold of a historic transformation, one for which more than 12,000 Iranians have already paid with their lives. This is not a theoretical struggle or a distant political contest. It is a mass uprising in which ordinary citizens—women, students, workers, and professionals—risk death daily in pursuit of dignity, freedom, and an end to a regime whose fundamentalist ideology has destabilized the region for more than four decades.
In such a moment, neutrality is not merely a diplomatic posture; it is a choice with consequences. Despite the Islamic Republic of Iran’s long record of hostility toward Saudi Arabia—through proxy warfare, missile and drone attacks launched by IRI-backed militias, subversion, and ideological expansionism—the Saudi leadership has thus far refrained from publicly supporting the Iranian people’s struggle against the Islamic Republic. This restraint is understandable from a narrow risk-management perspective. But history shows that moments of transformation reward foresight more than caution.
This uprising is not solely an internal Iranian matter. It is a regional reckoning with an ideology that has fueled sectarianism, armed militias, and chronic instability from Yemen to Lebanon, from Iraq to Syria. For decades, Arab states—and Saudi Arabia in particular—have borne the costs of the ayatollahs’ ambitions: missiles aimed at Riyadh, attacks on energy infrastructure, threats to maritime security, and relentless attempts to export revolution have made the Islamic Republic a central source of regional insecurity.
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Backing the Iranian people’s aspiration for a secular, non-ideological state is therefore not a gamble; it is an opportunity. It is an opportunity to remove the most persistent driver of instability in the Middle East and to open the door to a fundamentally new regional alignment—one based on state sovereignty, economic cooperation, and mutual respect rather than ideological confrontation.
As a leading figure in the Arab world, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is uniquely positioned to help shape this transition. Just as his vision has transformed deserts into productive land and reoriented Saudi Arabia toward innovation and global integration, his moral and political leadership at this decisive moment could help guide Iran toward a future free of extremism and perpetual conflict. A post-Islamic Republic Iran—aligned with its people rather than an ideological clerical elite—would not be an adversary to the Arab world but a potential partner in stability, trade, and development.
Iranians have already signaled their preferred national path. Millions chant the name of Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi not out of nostalgia but out of a desire for national unity, continuity, and a return to a state that represents Iran as a country, not as a revolutionary cause. This movement seeks neither revenge nor domination. It seeks reintegration into the international community and peaceful coexistence with its neighbors, including Saudi Arabia.
Already, the legacy of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is significant. He will be remembered as the architect of Saudi Arabia’s modernization. Yet legacies, like regions, are shaped by moments of decision. By standing publicly alongside the Iranian people and their widely recognized national leader at this defining juncture, he could elevate his legacy beyond national reform to regional statesmanship. Such leadership would mark him not only as a modernizer of Saudi Arabia but as a leader who helped reshape the Middle East toward peace, development, and cooperation for generations to come.
Ultimately, history is written not only by those who act, but by those who recognize when the moment demands action. We respectfully and urgently appeal to His Royal Highness Mohammed bin Salman to stand with the Iranian people at this critical hour and to support a future Iran that is a constructive partner to its neighbors—and a force for stability rather than division in the Middle East.
With the highest respect,
Dr. Iman Foroutan
Chairman of the Board, The New Iran
