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Iranian opposition leader calls on Trump administration to ‘stay the course’ as the US and Israel continue to wage war on Iran.

Amid questions about the future of Iran’s government, the son of the former shah has pitched himself to a right-wing summit in the United States and received a raucous welcome.

Reza Pahlavi spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Texas on Saturday, urging US President Donald Trump not to cut a deal with Iran and instead seek regime change.

“Can you imagine Iran going from ‘Death to America’ to ‘God Bless America’?” the self-styled crown prince asked his audience in Grapevine, Texas.

“President Trump is making America great again. I intend to make Iran great again,” he added, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd.

His remarks came on the one-month anniversary of the US and Israel’s decision to launch a war against Iran. As the conflict enters its second month, at least 1,937 people in Iran have been killed, and tens of thousands more injured, with no end to the fighting in sight.

Pahlavi has become a central opposition figure in the Iranian diaspora, with a loyal base of supporters who often carry his image, along with Iran’s pre-revolutionary flag, at protests around the world.

During his speech, some in the audience chanted, “Long live the king!”

While some in the Iranian diaspora have expressed reservations about the US-Israeli attacks and their effect on the future of Iran, Pahlavi has emerged as an outspoken supporter of Trump, aligned with the administration’s most hawkish figures.

“This regime in its entirety must go,” he said on Saturday.

Analysts have warned that the Iranian government is not likely to collapse and could emerge from the conflict more hardened than before. Some exiles, meanwhile, have been criticised for lending their voices to support the US-Israeli war despite the heavy toll on Iranian civilians.

Trump has himself previously downplayed the possibility that the son of the former shah, who was expelled from Iran during the country’s 1979 revolution, could play a central role in Iran if the current government were to collapse.

Earlier this month, Trump said that Pahlavi “looks like a very nice person“, but indicated that the shah’s son lacks popularity in Iran.

“It would seem to me that somebody from within, maybe, would be more appropriate,” Trump had said.

Divides within the US right over the war in Iran were also in evidence at CPAC. Polls suggest that, while the war is widely unpopular among US voters, Republicans support it by large margins.

In a Pew Research Center poll, for instance, 71 percent of Republican voters felt the US had made the right decision to attack Iran. Overall, among voters regardless of party, 59 percent opposed the initial strikes.

Still, a handful of influential voices on the US right, such as Tucker Carlson and Steve Bannon, have emerged as vocal critics of the war. Younger activists have also expressed frustration with what they see as a betrayal of Trump’s promise to avoid military adventures overseas.

“We did not want to see more wars. We wanted actual America First policies, and Trump was very explicit about that,” Benjamin Williams, a 25-year-old marketing specialist for Young Americans for Liberty, told The Associated Press. “It does feel like a betrayal, for sure.”

Eight players were ejected and a referee was knocked to the floor, requiring medical attention, after a brawl broke out during South Alabama’s 80-70 victory against Coastal Carolina in a Sun Belt Conference women’s basketball tournament game Wednesday in Pensacola, Fla.

Coastal Carolina forward Tracey Hueston has been suspended by the conference for the rest of the postseason. South Alabama’s Cordasia Harris, Amyah Sutton and Daniela Gonzalez each received a one-game suspension.

The incident started during a stop in action with 5:39 remaining in the fourth quarter when Harris appeared to bump into Hueston from behind underneath the basket. Hueston turned and took a swing at Harris, and others rushed in to separate the players.

Hueston took another swing and appeared to inadvertently hit referee Marla Gearhar with a forearm to the head or neck area. Gearhar was knocked to the floor and remained on her back until multiple staff members and a medical professional were able to attend to her.

The conference later announced that Gearhar “was evaluated by medical personnel at the Pensacola Bay Center and was released.”

A double technical foul was called on Hueston and Harris. They were ejected from the game, along with South Alabama’s Sutton, Gonzalez, Terren Coffil, Saneea Bevley, Princess Okafor Nweze and Jeriyah Baines.

“It’s unfortunate we had the incident with South Al today. I know Tracey Hueston regrets that,” Coastal Carolina coach Kevin Pederson said after the game. “She’s an incredible model citizen off the floor and she knows she can’t act that way. That was extremely frustrating for everybody, certainly something we don’t approve of in this program. It’s nothing you want to see.”

South Alabama athletic director Joel Erdmann said in a statement that while “the incident that took place during Wednesday’s game is extremely unfortunate and unacceptable,” he does not believe Harris, Sutton and Gonzalez were deserving of suspensions.

“After an extensive internal review, I do not believe the actions of all three of our student-athletes rose to the level of being classified as fighting as defined by the NCAA rule book,” Erdmann said. “This judgment has negatively impacted the tournament experience of our suspended student-athletes and stripped them of limited opportunities to compete in the postseason.

“Though I strongly disagree with the judgment of the officials, we will accept the decision from the Sun Belt Conference and turn our focus to supporting coach [Yolisha] Jackson and her team in [Thursday’s] tournament game against Texas State.”