Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the last Iranian Shah, today criticized the European Union’s reluctance to take a clearer stance against Tehran in the conflict with the United States and Israel, urging it to do so.
“There are moments in history when neutrality is not a position, but a decision – when caution is not prudence, it is complicity”highlighted the opponent of the Islamic Republic regime, in an interview given to the Euractiv news portal in Berlin, before meeting with members of the parliamentary committee on Foreign Affairs of the Bundestag (lower house of the German parliament).
Although European leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, have stressed that the European Union (EU) is not a party to the conflict, Pahlavi argued that neutrality carries consequences and that Brussels has sent contradictory signals since the start, on February 28, of the joint Israeli-North American offensive against Iran’s intention to produce nuclear weapons.
Recently invited to go to the European Parliament, where he ended up not speaking, Pahlavi, a prominent figure in the opposition to the theocratic regime established in his country in 1979, accused European governments of allowing themselves to be “blackmailed by Tehran” through the taking of hostages and threats of violence on European soil.
“European governments have become hostages of their hostages”he declared, referring to the detention of European citizens by Iranian authorities.
The heir to the Shah ousted by the Islamic Revolution urged the EU to go beyond what he described as a policy of appeasement, urging the expulsion of Iranian ambassadors and a refusal to legitimize any political agreement that preserves the current power structure, centered on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
He also argued that Member States must prepare to recognize a future transitional authority in Iran.
As conditions for any negotiations, Pahlavi said Tehran must suspend executions, release political prisoners and lift restrictions on Internet access.
“A regime that cannot meet these three conditions, which cost it nothing, cannot be considered reliable in delivering a gram of uranium”he noted.
Although he welcomed measures such as the possible reimposition of already lifted UN sanctions (“snapback”) and the debates on classifying the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization, he argued that they are insufficient.
He also urged EU Europe to help circumvent Internet restrictions imposed by Tehran by supporting alternative communication infrastructures.
The son of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919-1980) issued these statements when EU leaders will meet today and Friday in Cyprus to discuss the crisis in the Persian Gulf, in particular the consequences of bombings and tensions surrounding restrictions on movement in the Strait of Hormuz.
According to Pahlavi, the situation of Iranian citizens must be central to these discussions, including the protection of Iranian dissidents living in Europe.
Regarding the temporary two-week ceasefire, extended on Wednesday by US President Donald Trump so that peace negotiations can continue, Reza Pahlavi rejected the idea that living conditions have improved inside Iran.
“Despite the suspension of air strikes, the regime continues to hang political prisoners, sentence teenagers to death and keep millions of people without access to the Internet”he described, in short: “The war against the Iranian people has never stopped.”
According to the Iranian opposition, 19 political prisoners have been executed in the last two weeks and another 20 face death sentences in connection with the January protests.
“A weakened regime is like a wounded animal”prone to attack, commented.
He also warned Western policymakers against seeking a superficial political solution, arguing that any agreement that leaves the system dominated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intact will not bring stability, halt Iran’s nuclear ambitions or end its support for allied regional armed groups.
“The Iranian people did not sacrifice 40,000 lives to see the regime reformed with a new face”he said, referring to the massacres of protesters that the regime carried out in January.
“They (the Iranians) want a total break”he stressed.
Any agreement that preserves the current regime will lack legitimacy with Iranians and risk triggering more conflict, he argued.
“If you think it is possible to make peace with this regime, you are sadly mistaken. If it is allowed to survive, more conflict will be inevitable – and more Iranians will die.”he insisted.
Lusa
