They pass from the “collapse” of the Islamic Republic and the regime of which the solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the birth of a stable and peaceful Middle East is an expression. He supports it in an exclusive interview with Adnkronos Reza Ciro Pahlavi, the son of the former Shah of PersiaMohammad Reza Pahlavi, overthrown in 1979 by the Islamic revolution led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
“L'the only solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and, more generally, to peace in the Middle East is the collapse of the Islamic Republic in Iran who is financing, aiding and directing terrorist groups such as Hamas to sow chaos and instability in the region”, says the Shah's heir as the bloodshed continues in the Gaza Strip, with the Israeli military operation entering its third month. “This regime thrives in chaos and conflict and, as long as it is in power, it will not allow a diplomatic solution to the conflict”, continues Pahlavi, according to whom “the only hope” is that the Iranians put an end to a regime that he defined as “godfather of terrorism “.
Shah's eldest son believes 'a democratic Iran' can become 'the fulcrum of stability in the Middle East', just as it was before 1979, when Tehran had “excellent relations” with both Israel and its Arab neighbors. “We have maintained peace in the region. This is exactly the role that Iran can play again after the fall of the Islamic regime. My vision for our region is for an Iran that seeks peaceful, productive and prosperous relations with all our neighbors based on mutual respect, national sovereignty and collective interests”, says Reza Pahlavi, who – with this in mind – made a historic visit to Israel last April during which he met the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the President, Isaac Herzog.
“We share an ancient biblical bond with the Jewish people. In fact, the day after my visit to Israel, Iranians in a volleyball stadium shouted pro-Israel chants in an unprecedented move,” he recalls, specifying that anti-Israel sentiment regime does not only concern Iranians in the diaspora: “We have seen many videos of my compatriots who refuse to trample and desecrate the Israeli, American or British flag which the authorities placed on the ground in front of the doors and entrances of buildings. We are proud of our history and we love our nation, but this pride and love, for us Iranians, is never at the cost of hating others“.
It is no coincidence, according to the Shah's son, “the main objective” of the ayatollahs is precisely the so-called 'Abraham Accords', which paved the way for rapprochement between Israel and several Arab countries including Saudi Arabia. For Pahlavi, the events of October 7 aimed to damage the diplomatic success of these agreements since “the Islamic Republic is committed to undermining the prospect of peace in the region. This regime will continue its attempts to destroy any prospect of peace as long as it is at candies”.
The Shah's heir therefore believes that there is no room for Hamas, which he defines as “a brutal terrorist organisation”, in a possible future Palestinian state. “The Palestinians deserve better than a terrorist group as their representative. Hamas does not have the interests of the Palestinian people at heart. It uses innocent civilians to further its financial and ideological gains. It is shameful,” explains Pahlavi, accusing the leaders of the Islamic Republic , first of all the current Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, of having created 'proxies' such as Hamas and Hezbollah with the aim of “destroying Israel without paying the price. They will push as hard as they can, until they have to face the consequences”.
Unlike their government, Iranians have no interest in “terrorist groups”, so much so that in the protests in Iran one of the slogans was “Neither Gaza, nor Lebanon, I give my life for Iran”, underlines Pahlavi , according to which Iranians “are tired of seeing their national resources and wealth plundered by the Islamic Republic and sent to Hamas and Hezbollah. The day after the October 7 terrorist attack on a football stadium in Tehran, they chanted very clearly slogan against these attacks”.
On the internal political situation, the Shah's son has clear ideas. “Iranians have no future under this regime which, from the beginning, has sought to destroy the country. They rebelled because they rightly recognized that it cannot be reformed and cannot solve Iran's problems because it is fundamentally an anti-Iranian regime,” he says, commenting on the anti-government protests that have rocked Iran since September last year , from the death of Mahsa Amini for not wearing the veil correctly, to the violent repression of subsequent demonstrations, up to the most recent case of Armita Geravand, the 16-year-old girl beaten to death in the Tehran subway by the moral police because, like Mahsa, she was not wearing a veil. Protests which are at the center of attention of international public opinion as demonstrated by the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the activist Narges Mohammadi and the Sakharov Prize to the Iranian 'Women, Life, Freedom' movement.
Reza Pahlavi believes a transition to a democratic Iran is “not a possibility, but a reality”. given that his compatriots “know very well what they don't want and are now recognizing what they want: a secular and democratic Iran. I have always advocated for this transition to be achieved internally and through non-violent methods, as we have seen numerous times in modern history, particularly in South Africa and Eastern Europe. Iranians are uniting in a national civil disobedience movement to bring down the Islamic Republic and this is how our country will transition to democracy.”
The Shah's son finally comments on recent rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabianoting that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman finds himself in a “difficult” position given “the enormous pressure that the Islamic Republic is exerting on him through the Houthis in Yemen. I believe that this agreement, which can hardly be defined as rapprochement , is little more than a temporary relief valve. There will be no peace between Iran and Saudi Arabia as long as the Tehran regime is in power – he concludes – However, with the disappearance of the Islamic Republic, our two Nations will once again be able to enjoy relations and productive ties”.
(Of Davide Desario)
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