Iran’s exiled crown prince has claimed that the West’s policy of “appeasement” has failed and that new Reagan-Thatcher-type leadership is needed.
Reza Pahlavi, the eldest son of the late Shah of Iran, is a prominent critic of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s Islamic regime.
speaking to The Telegraph, He said there has been a “weak approach” by Western leaders on “both sides of the Atlantic” toward the Islamic Republic.
He told the newspaper that there should be a reset of Europe’s relationship with Tehran, calling for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to be labeled a terrorist organization.
The 63-year-old also harshly criticized British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for not doing enough to protect London-based Iranian journalists.
Reza Pahlavi, the crown prince of Iran, photographed at The Oxford Union in 2023
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei photographed in Tehran in 2022
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher with US President Ronald Reagan (1911 – 2004) on the steps of 10 Downing Street, following the official start of the G7 Economic Summit in London, 1984
The prince was referring to the stabbing of Iran International television presenter Pouria Zeraati last month at Wimbledon.
Zeraati has been repeatedly attacked by Tehran as the media organization openly criticizes the government regime.
Counterterrorism police are investigating an attack on a prominent Iranian dissident journalist who said he was attacked by a two-man team who escaped in a waiting car.
Agents working directly for the Iranian government or a criminal gang hired by Tehran are believed to have attacked Zeraati, who hosts a high-profile television show in London.
Speaking to The Telegraph, the prince asked what the benefit is of not being “willing to respond in some way”.
He went so far as to say that the “root cause” of Iran’s influence throughout the Middle East was the West’s “appeasement” police.
The prince was referring to the stabbing of Iran International television presenter Pouria Zeraati (pictured right) last month at Wimbledon.
The journalist was rushed to the hospital and shared a defiant post on Instagram from his bed.
This week, Rishi Sunak called for “calm” after Israel launched strikes against Iran in retaliation for the unprecedented bombing of Tehran with drones and missiles.
The Prime Minister insisted that Israel “absolutely has the right to self-defense” and emphasized that the facts of the overnight action are still being established.
But he said the priority must be to calm tensions in the region, amid fears that the Middle East could be plunged into a much broader conflict.
However, the exiled prince said stronger leadership is needed, similar to that of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher at the end of the Cold War. He added that this partnership “changed the world in a very significant way.”
The prince left Iran in 1977, when he was 17, to receive air force training in the United States.
Two years later, his father, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, was deposed during the Islamic Revolution.
Since then, the royal family has been in exile, but after the death of his father in 1980, the prince declared himself the new shah of Iran in exile.
Although he was never formally named, he is an important figure to opposition figures and Iranians in exile.
Rishi Sunak called for “calm heads” after Israel launched strikes against Iran in retaliation for Tehran’s unprecedented drone and missile bombing.
The Biden administration had emphasized the need for de-escalation by Israel following the barrage of attacks from Iran.
Frustrated when asked by The Telegraph about ongoing diplomatic attempts with Tehran, he said: “This is basically kicking the can down the road. Diplomacy has failed. Appeasement has failed. “Frankly, any continuation of the same thing is crazy.”
He added that US President Biden’s failure to implement sanctions has led to inflation in Tehran’s revenue.
President Joe Biden’s administration previously announced new sanctions on Iran targeting the production of unarmed aerial vehicles following its missile and drone attack on Israel last weekend.
‘Let it be clear to all those who allow or support Iran’s attacks: the United States is committed to Israel’s security. We are committed to the safety of our staff and partners in the region. And we will not hesitate to take all necessary measures to hold him accountable,’ Biden said in a statement.
His announcement came after Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country reserved the right to protect and would decide the best way to do so. Biden has made clear that the United States does not support an Israeli attack on Iran.
Despite living in exile, the prince went on to say that he feels optimistic that the end of Tehran’s rulers is near.
He said the recent crackdown on peaceful protests sparked by the death two years ago of Mahsa Amini, a young woman detained for not wearing her hijab correctly, is a sign of “weakness and insecurity.”
Mahsa Amini died in custody after being detained by the moral police for her appearance. She was visiting the Iranian capital with her family.
Amini fell into a coma after being arrested in Tehran and died while in hospital in Kasra.
Amini, 22, fell into a coma after being arrested in Tehran and died while in police custody at the hospital.
Other women showed their anger at the news on social media by posting other examples of harsh actions by the moral police against women without hijab.
Islamic Republic officials told local media that Amini suffered a heart attack while being detained by morality police, denying reports that she had been beaten.
“They killed my angel,” his mother told the BBC Persian service. She said her daughter was healthy and had no problems.
Exiled Prince Pahlavi said Iran’s Generation Z offers hope for change in the future because they are “not isolated from the world” and are on Instagram and X.
He told The Telegraph: “They say: why shouldn’t I have the same opportunities that a boy or girl has today in Doha, Abu Dhabi or Dubai?”
“And they talk about this, they express their ideas, the fact of how united they are as a nation.”
He said that’s “it gives me hope, it gives me energy.”