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Son of Ousted Shah Says Ready for Iran Transition 'Under My Leadership'

Smoke rises following an explosion during a protest marking the annual al-Quds Day (Jerusalem Day) on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 13, 2026.- Reuters
Smoke rises following an explosion during a protest marking the annual al-Quds Day (Jerusalem Day) on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 13, 2026.- Reuters
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Son of Ousted Shah Says Ready for Iran Transition 'Under My Leadership'

Smoke rises following an explosion during a protest marking the annual al-Quds Day (Jerusalem Day) on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 13, 2026.- Reuters
Smoke rises following an explosion during a protest marking the annual al-Quds Day (Jerusalem Day) on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 13, 2026.- Reuters

The exiled son of Iran's last shah who was ousted by the 1979 revolution said on Saturday he was ready to lead a transition "as soon as the Islamic Republic falls".

In a message on his social media channels, US-based Reza Pahlavi said he had already been working to select individuals both inside and outside Iran to serve on what he called a "Transitional System".

Pahlavi leads one of several opposition movements based outside Iran but his prominence grew after January protests against the clerical system, with some demonstrators calling for a return of the monarchy, according to AFP.

Longstanding supreme leader Ali Khamenei was killed on February 28 in US-Israeli airstrikes but after a fortnight of war the clerical system remains in place even if his successor, his son Mojtaba, has yet to make a public appearance.

Pahlavi said that Saeed Ghasseminejad, senior Iran and financial economics advisor at the US-based think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), which is staunchly critical of the Islamic republic, had been leading the process to select members of a transitional body.

"Capable individuals both inside and outside the country have been identified and evaluated to lead various sections of the Transitional System," he said

"The Transitional System, under my leadership, will be ready to assume governance of the country as soon as the Islamic Republic falls, and in the shortest possible time, establish order, security, freedom, and the conditions for Iran's prosperity and flourishing," he added.

In a boost to Pahlavi, vast pro-monarchy rallies took place in February in Munich and several cities in North America in the biggest yet such show of support.

But he has notably also failed to win recognition from US President Donald Trump, who has never officially met with Pahlavi and repeatedly expressed scepticism over his ability to lead Iran.

"They talk about the son of the shah, they talk about other people, but (he) hasn't been there in many years," Trump said this week.

Pahlavi was undergoing air force training in the US when his father Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was ousted and never returned to the country.

Trump has repeatedly referred to Venezuela, where in January US forces captured president Nicolas Maduro, with Washington now working with his former deputy Delcy Rodriguez.

But it remains unclear how such a scenario could play out in Iran.

"I like the idea of internal because it works well, I think we have proven that so far in Venezuela," Trump said.

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World

Israel Approves Emergency Military Funding as Iran War Rages

Israeli security forces check the damage to cars after a rocket strike in Holon, in the Tel Aviv District on March 15, 2026. (AFP)
Israeli security forces check the damage to cars after a rocket strike in Holon, in the Tel Aviv District on March 15, 2026. (AFP)
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Israel Approves Emergency Military Funding as Iran War Rages

Israeli security forces check the damage to cars after a rocket strike in Holon, in the Tel Aviv District on March 15, 2026. (AFP)
Israeli security forces check the damage to cars after a rocket strike in Holon, in the Tel Aviv District on March 15, 2026. (AFP)

Israel has approved an $827-million emergency budget allocation for military purchases, Israeli media reported Sunday, as the war with Iran entered its third week.

The 2.6-billion-shekel package was approved over the weekend by cabinet ministers during a telephone meeting, the daily Haaretz reported.

It will be used for "security purchases" and to address "urgent needs", it said, without providing further details.

A finance ministry document circulated to all ministers and reported by several media outlets, including Channel 12, said that "given the intensity of the fighting" the additional budget allocation was necessary.

"An urgent and immediate need has arisen to provide an operational response, including the acquisition of munitions, the procurement of advanced weapons systems and the replenishment of critical combat stocks," the document said.

The document added that the move constituted "an exceptional emergency decision intended solely to address needs arising from the conduct of the fighting".

The funds will be drawn from the state budget, totaling $222 billion and approved by the government on March 12, and expected to be adopted by the Knesset by March 31, according to the reports.

The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not yet officially commented on the measure or specified what purchases the funds will cover.

Since the Israeli-US bombardments against Iran that began on February 28, Israel has been targeted daily by Iranian ballistic missile fire, which the military has mostly intercepted using its missile defense systems.

According to Haaretz, citing security officials, 250 ballistic missiles had been fired by Iran at Israel as of March 13.

Twelve people have been killed in Israel by missiles or falling debris since the start of the war, according to an AFP tally of figures given by Israeli authorities and first responders.

World

UK Says Vital to 'De-escalate' Middle East War

FILE PHOTO: An aerial view of the island of Qeshm, separated from the Iranian mainland by the Clarence Strait, in the Strait of Hormuz, December 10, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An aerial view of the island of Qeshm, separated from the Iranian mainland by the Clarence Strait, in the Strait of Hormuz, December 10, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
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UK Says Vital to 'De-escalate' Middle East War

FILE PHOTO: An aerial view of the island of Qeshm, separated from the Iranian mainland by the Clarence Strait, in the Strait of Hormuz, December 10, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: An aerial view of the island of Qeshm, separated from the Iranian mainland by the Clarence Strait, in the Strait of Hormuz, December 10, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

A British minister on Sunday said it was essential to calm the situation in the Middle East after US President Donald Trump demanded that other nations help protect world oil supplies passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

The "plan now has to be to de-escalate the conflict", Energy Security Minister Ed Miliband told the BBC.

A spokesperson for the defense ministry said late on Saturday: "As we've said previously, we are currently discussing with our allies and partners a range of options to ensure the security of shipping in the region."

World

South Korea 'Closely Monitoring' Trump Call to Send Warships to Hormuz

A tanker sails in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in United Arab Emirates, March 11, 2026. (Reuters)
A tanker sails in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in United Arab Emirates, March 11, 2026. (Reuters)
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South Korea 'Closely Monitoring' Trump Call to Send Warships to Hormuz

A tanker sails in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in United Arab Emirates, March 11, 2026. (Reuters)
A tanker sails in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in United Arab Emirates, March 11, 2026. (Reuters)

South Korea said on Sunday it was paying close attention to US President Donald Trump's call for Seoul and other countries to send warships to help protect oil supplies passing through the Strait of Hormuz. 

Since US-Israeli forces launched a war against Iran on Feburary 28, Tehran has responded with attacks and threats that have nearly halted shipping in the strait, through which one-fifth of global oil supplies normally passes. 

After earlier vowing that the US Navy would begin escorting tankers through the waterway, Trump said on social media on Saturday that "Many Countries" would also send warships to keep it open, naming South Korea and Japan among others. 

But after a senior Japanese official said on Sunday that Tokyo maintained a high threshold for such a move, Seoul also refrained from making any explicit commitments. 

"We are closely monitoring President Trump's remarks on social media and will carefully consider the matter in close consultation with the United States," a South Korean presidential official told AFP. 

Seoul was "comprehensively considering and exploring various measures... to ensure the safety of energy transport routes", the official said. 

Like other Asian economies, South Korea relies heavily on energy imports, including through the Strait of Hormuz. 

The war has already prompted Seoul to impose a fuel price cap to ease pressure on its energy supply, the first such measure since 1997. 

Earlier on Sunday, Takayuki Kobayashi, the policy chief of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said the bar for sending Japanese navy ships to the region under existing laws was "extremely high". 

"Legally speaking, we do not rule out the possibility, but given the current situation in which this conflict is ongoing, I believe this is something that must be considered with great caution," he said on the public broadcaster NHK's political debate program. 

Trump also mentioned China, France and Britain by name in his post, saying he hoped countries "that are affected by this artificial constraint will send Ships to the area".