London: The last Iranian shah's eldest son has pleaded with Western governments to back efforts by the general populace to overthrow the government in Tehran.

Reza Pahlavi, who is in Europe to rally support for young activists there, told the Guardian that the West should declare the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to be a terrorist group and assist Iranians in getting around the regime's internet censorship.

"Everyone recognises that this is a do-or-die situation, which is why the revolution is still going strong. Iranians are clamouring for the dictator to be killed. They are still standing there while they are being shot in the eyes, or if not, they are being imprisoned, subjected to torture, or even killed, Pahlavi said. "The world needs to react and stand with them."

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Pahlavi, who is frequently referred to as Iran's crown prince, declared that if Tehran came under enough internal and external pressure, reform-minded politicians and members of the IRGC would turn against the government.

"The reformists' mantra is becoming more and more, 'Forget about reform. It won't work, and we need to consider alternatives to this regime. There is agreement with what we are saying, the speaker declared.

Western governments have so far refrained from taking further action against the IRGC itself out of concern that doing so might jeopardise any chance of reviving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or Iran Nuclear Deal.

The IRGC, according to Pahlavi, "controls every aspect of the country, but only the top echelons of the government."

The lower ranks must decide whether they want to be used as a tool of repression or whether they believe that this regime is crumbling and that their best option is to take the exit strategy being offered to them—truth and reconciliation—and return to the heart of the country.

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The lower paramilitary ranks peel away from the regime in my vision of regime change, but that requires the greatest amount of pressure from the West.

Political expediency frequently clashes with movements that value freedom, he continued. Perhaps in order to justify some reengagement and negotiations, some governments are claiming that the protests are tapering off. It reminds me of South Africa after apartheid ended there. Governments attempted to overlook the problem until it was impossible to do so.

"I find it odd that the Biden administration is so committed to reviving a JCPOA when the first time around the West did not experience economic benefits. Cooperation with the West will be completely blocked as long as this regime is in power. That is the attitude.

Pahlavi, who has lived in exile from Iran since he was 17 years old, claimed to be creating a charter for a future Iranian political system with activists based on democratic ideals.

It has legitimacy because it comes from inside of Iran, he claimed. "We didn't come up with this to send to Iran. The exact opposite. We serve as the voice of Iranians who, for understandable reasons, cannot openly advocate. It is a diverse group, including republicans, monarchists, and those on the left and right.

"I am not here to be president or the next king," he continued. I'm here to help the transition process by utilising the trust I've earned from the public and my political clout.

My sole purpose in life is to live to see the day when Iranians can vote and determine their own future, he declared. "I think I can be most effective if I can help institutionalise checks on power concentration, corruption, abuse of power, or a new political culture," the author said.

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He swore off any ties to his father's rule, which came to an end in 1979 with the Iranian Revolution. "People don't perceive me as going back in time. They see someone moving towards a future when they look at me," he claimed.

"We ought to have been South Korea at the very least if not for this revolution. We are North Korea, not South Korea.