THIS is the extraordinary moment Iranian state TV is hacked to broadcast a message from the exiled prince calling on the military to “join the people”.
Stunning footage showed the son of the last Shah, Reza Pahlavi, pleading with security forces to drop their weapons and “join the nation for the freedom of Iran”.
Widespread protests have rocked the mullahs’ regime for weeks – with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei enforcing a deadly clampdown and sweeping internet blackout in response.
At least 5,000 people have been slaughtered during brutal clashes, Tehran claims, despite some reports suggesting the death toll is over 16,500.
The Ayatollah has threatened to restart mass executions and warned of “all out war” if Donald Trump intervenes in the bloody crackdown.
Fears are also mounting that the total internet blackout – which was imposed on January 8 – could be extended indefinitely to keep 92 million Iranians locked away in digital isolation.
Despite the sweeping communications ban, astonishing footage has emerged appearing to show the Crown Prince speaking on national TV.
In the clips, Pahlavi could be heard saying: “I have a special message for the military.
“You are the national army of Iran, not the Islamic Republic army.”
He continues: “You have a duty to protect your own lives.
“You don’t have much time left. Join the people as soon as possible.”
There were also blocks of texts which claimed that other officers had already “laid down their weapons and swore an oath of allegiance to the people”.
One message read: “Don’t point your weapons at the people. Join the nation for the freedom of Iran.”
It comes after pariah Khamenei accused the US and Israel of provoking “terrorists and rioters”.
The tyrant branded America’s actions “Mohareb” – an Islamic term meaning to wage war on God, punishable by death.
The deadly uprisings which kicked off on December 28 marked the biggest threat the regime had faced in decades as riots erupted across the country.
And the Ayatollah’s blood-soaked response was the most brutal massacre of his 47-year reign.
Terrified Iranians became paralysed by fear due to the mass killings, with many too frightened to step out of their homes.
An eerie sense of calm has returned to the Iranian capital and many other cities after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) ruthless killings.
Hinting at bringing back mass executions, Tehran said on Sunday: “A series of actions have been identified as Mohareb, which is among the most severe Islamic punishments.”
Some 16,500 people have been killed while 330,000 to 360,000 have been left injured during the riots.
The victims include children and pregnant women – with the figures compiled by dozens of overwhelmed hospitals across the nation.
It comes after Trump thanked the Ayatollah for supposedly postponing the executions of some 800 protesters.
Who is Reza Pahlavi?
CROWN Prince Reza Pahlavi has pledged to end the barbaric rule of Iran’s fundamentalist firebrands – by restoring a UK-style monarchy
Silver-haired Pahlavi, 65, has vowed to order elections and bow to a new democratically chosen government if he returns to his homeland after nearly five decades in exile.
He believes he is the figurehead needed to oust the mullahs who have crushed dissent with brutality since 1979.
He was 18 when his father, Iran’s last Shah, fled in 1979 as the Islamic Revolution replaced Iran’s corrupt monarchy.
The playboy Shah, who died in Egypt in 1980, was loathed after pocketing oil revenues as his people faced poverty.
Pahlavi promised to lead a revolt to free his people while seeking no power.
He lives in exile in the United States and has not ruled Iran, but is a prominent opposition figure calling for a secular, democratic Iran.
Pahlavi is a key symbol for anti-regime protesters, regularly speaking out against Iran’s clerical leadership and supporting recent protest movements.
He said he would be “a steward of a national transition to democracy”.
But he is yet to win the backing of Donald Trump who is not convinced Pahlavi has enough support.
Among those on death row was Erfan Soltani, 26, who was arrested on January 8 and given just 10 minutes to say goodbye to his loved ones before being dragged away for execution.
The freedom fighter is still alive according to his family and human rights groups.
On Sunday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian fumed that any “unjust aggression will be harsh and regrettable”.
The Ayatollah crony said any attack on Khamenei would be considered “tantamount to an all-out war against the nation.”
The Middle East had braced for US strikes on the Islamist regime after Trump promised brave protesters “help is on the way” after 17 days of bloody street strife.
Iran had vowed to fast-track trials and executions of those captured during the deadly protests but Trump then accepted assurances that “killing in Iran is stopping”.
“The best decision he ever made was not hanging more than 800 people two days ago,” Trump told Politico.
But an Iranian refugee in contact with protesters told The Sun: “The regime is buying time by lying to Trump and they will do what they want once he loses focus.
“People are pleased that there have been no executions so far but that could change very quickly.”
President Trump has also called for an end to Khamenei’s rule – branding the pariah a “sick man who should run his country properly and stop killing people”.
The Ayatollah is also reportedly plotting to extend his nationwide internet blackout indefinitely – plunging the country into permanent “digital isolation” as part of the crackdown.
Khamenei’s henchmen are reportedly scheming a plan to sink its 92 million civilians into “absolute digital isolation”, according to Filterwatch, a digital monitoring project.
The Islamic Republic is switching its old model of “mass internet censorship” in favour of a “permanent shift” toward a “sealed intranet”.
Only those with a “security clearance” will be able to reach the outside world, Filterwatch said.
The watchdog said: “This information blockade reflects the extreme securitization of the ‘Communication Blackhole’ project, making access to real news harder for domestic users than for external observers.”
Tehran spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani claimed international web access would not be available until at least the Iranian New Year in late March, IranWire reported.
