by WYATT REED
A livestreamed Iranian royalist chat revealed a network of foreign-educated elites plotting to plunder Iran’s economy after realizing their dream of regime change.
The CEO of Uber, Dara Khosrowshahi, has drawn criticism following his participation in an online discussion workshopping ways to exploit Iran in the event of regime change. The event wad hosted by NUFDI, the main DC-based advocacy group for the monarchist movement surrounding Reza Pahlavi, whose father was the last reigning Shah of Iran.
The discussion, marketed by one prominent online Pahlavi booster as an effort “to present designs that could be quickly implemented in Iran after the fall of the Islamic Republic” and “the establishment of a sound government,” was held to cobble together a loose plan for the privatization of Iran’s economy following an apparently to-be-determined regime change scenario. It’s unclear whether the vision laid out by the two Iranian expats represents a concrete blueprint for toppling the government, but the content of the chat suggested the Uber CEO seeks lucrative gains in the event of a successful regime change operation.
Shameful that @dkhos & @shervin are speaking at a NUFDI event—an Iranian monarchist group pushing for military strikes on Iran, collective punishment via sanctions, & viciously attacking other opposition voices more than the regime itself.
Maybe they don’t know. But they should. pic.twitter.com/OeEcL8jtBQ
— Sina Toossi (@SinaToossi) May 3, 2025
Asked by fellow uber-wealthy US-based Iranian venture capitalist Shervin Pishevar what he would do in the “first 100 days” of a “Free Iran,” Khosrowshahi explained, “If you look at the potential GDP of the country… As a marketplace, I think, Uber and pretty much every single other major technology company and services company and brand company, would look at Iran as a very, very significant new market to come into. So I think that we would absolutely come into Iran and invest aggressively in the local marketplace as well.”
“There are thousands and thousands of Iranian-American entrepreneurs like myself and you out there, and it’s a force to be reckoned with,” Khosrowshahi continued. “And when Iran opens up, I’m really looking forward to putting that good force to work, so to speak.”
Pishevar, who has been accused of sexual assault or harassment by at least six women who worked with him, repeatedly stumbled while reading a made-for-TV sales pitch during his lengthy introduction of Khosrowshahi: “The Islamic Republic tried to bury us… But we were seeds. Impenetrable seeds. What comes next is the blooming of the Iranian spirit – bold, beautiful, and unstoppable. Let the world see this: that Iran, once silenced by fear, murder, and rape, rose up in hope, and became a beacon to all nations who dream of liberty. We will no longer fund terrorism, we will fund hope. This is our mission, this is Iranian dynamism. It begins now.”
The Gray Zone for more