Look Beyond Iran's Nuclear Program, Urges Former Crown Prince
Reza Pahlavi, the former crown prince of Iran, urged the Obama administration today to focus on the "lack of political freedom and human rights" in Iran in its ongoing review of policy. His remarks at the Nixon Center in Washington were, in effect, an appeal to the new administration not to concentrate solely on the major security issues involving Iran—its nuclear program, alleged support for terrorism, and regional power ambitions.
Pahlavi, son of the late shah of Iran, acknowledged that sentiment in Washington for launching a dialogue with Iran's hard-line rulers is growing. But the administration should also "open a line of dialogue with the democratic opposition," he said.
Pahlavi lives in Maryland and remains an active presence among Iranian exiles in the United States and Europe who oppose the Shiite cleric-led government in Tehran, which took power in 1979 after a revolution that deposed his late father. He spoke of the continuing "quest for democracy" in Iran, adding, "We seek a secular alternative."
The 48-year-old Pahlavi brushed aside a question about whether he has any interest in returning to Iran someday as a leader. "That's not the issue here," he replied. If democratic change arrives at some point, he said, "Yours truly, as an Iranian citizen, will be at the service of his country."
- Read more about Iran's nuclear challenge.
- Read more news on Iran news.
Reader Comments
the spread of wikipedia
It's funny how Soraya of NY copy and pasted straight out of wikipedia right down to the citation. I hope that's not her sole source on the Shah...(not that I'm a fan).
@ the commentator without a name
"...You're schemers, you are evil. All of you."??!!!
are you kidding or simply uneducated? You claim these are the Shah's words?
1. Never in Iran's Islamic history gained the women more rights than during the late Shah's reign.
2. What he did or did not has nothing to do with his son. Your statement "When Reza's father speaks like this of women, imagine the son is capable of?" shows only your ignorance!
Lies and Propaganda against Pahlavi
Please don't quote Fallaci who worked for the Vatican! The international campaign to vilify the Shah will be seen for what it was -- a power grab by greedy foreign forces to prevent Iran from taking a position as a world power.
The region surely would be more stable had Iran not be invaded in 1979. If the Shah had not been murdered,the world would not be in its present state of calamity.
advertisement
