Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Mar 28, 2023

Son of former shah urges West to back dissidents in Iran

Son of former shah urges West to back dissidents in Iran

The eldest son of the last shah of Iran has urged Western governments to support popular efforts to topple the regime in Tehran.
Reza Pahlavi, who is in Europe to drum up support for young activists in his country, told the Guardian that the West should proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist organization and help Iranians circumvent the regime’s restrictions on the internet.

“The reason the revolution is continuing is because everybody understands this is do-or-die. Iranians are calling for ‘death to the dictator’. They are getting shot in the eyes and, if not, imprisoned or tortured or executed, and they are still standing there,” Pahlavi said. “The world needs to respond and be on their side.”

Pahlavi, often referred to as Iran’s crown prince, said reform-minded politicians and elements of the IRGC would abandon the regime if enough external and internal pressure was brought to bear on Tehran.

“The discourse of the reformists is increasingly: ‘Forget about reform. It is not going to work, and we need to think past this regime.’ There is a convergence with what we are saying,” he said.

So far, Western governments have been reluctant to move beyond sanctioning the IRGC itself over fears that doing so could derail any possibility of reviving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or Iran Nuclear Deal.

The IRGC, Pahlavi said, “is an armed paramilitary mafia that controls every aspect of the country, but only the top echelons of the IRGC benefit from this.

“The lower ranks have to decide if they want to be used as an instrument of repression, or to consider this regime is on its last legs and they should take the exit strategy being offered to them, through truth and reconciliation, and return to the bosom of the nation.

“In my vision of regime change, the lower paramilitary ranks peel away from the regime, but that requires maximum pressure by the West.”

He added: “Political expediency often has a problem with freedom-loving movements. The fact some governments are suggesting the protests are tapering off is perhaps because they want to justify some re-engagement and negotiations. It’s a bit like South Africa at the end of apartheid. Governments tried to ignore the issue until it was impossible to do so.

“It is curious to me that the Biden administration is so hell-bent on rejuvenating a JCPOA, when first time round the West did not benefit economically. As long as this regime is in power there will be a complete block on cooperating with the West. That is the mindset.”

Pahlavi, who has been in exile from Iran since he was 17, said he was drawing up a charter with activists based on democratic principles for a future Iranian political system.

“It originates from inside Iran, and that is why it has legitimacy,” he said. “This is not something we concocted to export to Iran. Quite the opposite. We are the voice of those inside Iran that cannot openly advocate for obvious reasons. It is a diverse group: left, right, center, republicans and monarchists.”

He added: “I am not here to be president or the next monarch. I am here to use my political capital and the trust that people have in me to be instrumental in helping the transition process.

“My only mission in life is to see the day the Iranians go to the polls and decide their own fate,” he said. “If afterwards I can contribute by helping to institutionalize checks on concentration of power, or corruption, or abuse of power or a new political culture … that is where I think I can be most effective.”

He distanced himself from association with his father’s rule, which came to an end with the Iranian Revolution in 1979. “People do not look at me as going back to the past. They look at me and see someone moving towards a future,” he said.

“Had it not been for this revolution, we should at least have been South Korea. Instead, we are North Korea.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
Close
0:00
0:00
AOC explains why she opposes banning TikTok
I have a dream, MLK inspiring speech
UK: Humza Yousaf replaces Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader and first minister in Scotland
Aretha Franklin, Marvis Staples - Oh Happy Day
In a dramatic U-turn against His Government: Judicial Reform Legislation Must Be Halted, Says Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant
BVI Freedom Song
Gordon Moore, a co-founder of Intel Corporation, died at 94
Billy Preston - You Can't Beat God Giving (Live)
Powell: Silicon Valley Bank was an 'outlier'
VIRGIN ISLANDS REGGAE CARIBBEAN RIDDIMZ
Donald Trump arrested – Twitter goes wild with doctored pictures
Oh Happy Day Edwin Hawkins - Anthony Brown w FBCG Combined Choir
NYPD is setting up barricades outside Manhattan Criminal Court ahead of Trump arrest.
'Stand by Me' performed by Karen Gibson and The Kingdom Choir
Credit Suisse's Scandalous History Resulted in an Obvious Collapse - It's time for regulators who fail to do their job to be held accountable and serve as an example by being behind bars.
National Anthem of the British Virgin Islands - Oh, Beautiful Virgin
Home Secretary Suella Braverman tours potential migrant housing in Rwanda as asylum deal remains mired in legal challenges
Hello Dolly
Paris Rioting vs Macron anti democratic law
for KING & COUNTRY - Amen (Reborn) [feat. Lecrae & The WRLDFMS Tony Wi
'Sexual Fantasy' Assignment At US School Outrages Parents
Bob Marley - Get Up Stand Up
Credit Suisse to borrow $54 billion from Swiss central bank
Yes He Can
Russian Hackers Preparing New Cyber Assault Against Ukraine
What A Friend We Have In Jesus
Jeremy Hunt insists his Budget will get young parents and over-50s back into work
Unforgettable
If this was in Tehran, Moscow or Hong Kong
Touch The Hem Of His Garment
Nashville police officer, and a female driver shooting one another
The Lord's Prayer
TRUMP: "Standing before you today, I am the only candidate who can make this promise: I will prevent World War III."
THE GOD MOVEMENT...BEAUTIFUL BVI
Mexican President Claims Mexico is Safer than the U.S.
Siyahamba
A brief banking situation report
Ray Charles And The Voices Of Jubilaton, Oh, Happy Day
Lady bites police officer and gets instantly reaction
Ramblin' Rose
We are witnessing widespread bank fails and the president just gave a 5 min speech then walked off camera.
Protoje - Who Knows ft. Chronixx
Donald Trump's asked by Tucker Carlson question on if the U.S. should support regime change in Russia?.
Pressure - Virgin Islands Nice
Good news: The U.S. government is now guaranteeing all deposits, held by, Silicon Valley Bank, and the funds are available as of today
Phil Wickham - House Of The Lord
Silicon Valley Bank exec was Lehman Brothers CFO
My God Is Real (Yes, God Is Real)
In a potential last-ditch effort, HSBC is considering a rescue deal to save Silicon Valley Bank UK from insolvency
The Lion King Circle of Life by LEBO M. — LIVE at the HAVASI Symphonic
BBC Director General, Tim Davie, has apologized, but not resigned, yet, following the disruption of sports programmes over the weekend
Louis Armstrong - When The Saints Go Marching In
A Mississippian man, who was once considered a “ticking time bomb,” has lost a whopping 165 kilograms! What motivated this incredible transformation?
Kanye West Sunday Service - hallelujah, salvation, and glory
Elon Musk Is Planning To Build A Town In Texas For His Employees
Jonathan Nelson - I Believe (Island Medley
The Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse effect is spreading around the world, affecting startup companies across the globe
From The Virgin Islands Sqad Up
City officials in Berlin announced on Thursday that all swimmers at public pools will soon be allowed to swim topless
Common, John Legend - Glory
Fitness scam
Anthony Evans vs. Jesse Campbell - If I Ain't Got You
Market Chaos as USDC Loses Peg to USD after $3.3 Billion Reserves Held by Silicon Valley Bank Closed.
I have a dream, MLK inspiring speech
A primitive judge in Australia sparked outrage when he told a breastfeeding woman to leave his courtroom for being “a distraction"
Aretha Franklin, Marvis Staples - Oh Happy Day
Barcelona is feeling the heat as they face corruption charges over payments to former vice-president of Spain's referees' committee, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira
BVI Freedom Song
Senator Tom Cotton: If the Mexican Government Won’t Stop Cartels from Killing Americans, Then U.S. Government Should
Billy Preston - You Can't Beat God Giving (Live)
Banking regulators close SVB, the largest bank failure since the financial crisis
VIRGIN ISLANDS REGGAE CARIBBEAN RIDDIMZ
The unelected UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, an immigrant himself, defends new controversial crackdown on illegal migration
Oh Happy Day Edwin Hawkins - Anthony Brown w FBCG Combined Choir
Old clip of Bill Gates saying Ukraine is a big, fat, corrupt sinkhole is going viral
'Stand by Me' performed by Karen Gibson and The Kingdom Choir
Man’s penis amputated by mistake after he’s wrongly diagnosed with a tumour
National Anthem of the British Virgin Islands - Oh, Beautiful Virgin
In a major snub to Downing Street's Silicon Valley dreams, UK chip giant Arm has dealt a serious blow to the government's economic strategy by opting for a US listing
Hello Dolly
JP Morgan Becomes First Bank to Predict UK Will Avoid Recession
for KING & COUNTRY - Amen (Reborn) [feat. Lecrae & The WRLDFMS Tony Wi
JP Morgan Becomes First Bank to Predict UK Will Avoid Recession
Bob Marley - Get Up Stand Up
How do stolen goods end up on Amazon, eBay and Facebook Marketplace?
Yes He Can
It's the question on everyone's lips: could a four-day workweek be the future of employment?
What A Friend We Have In Jesus
×