By Kayhan Life Staff
The Islamic Republic is growing increasingly vulnerable, and U.S. military intervention in Iran could save lives: that was the message that Reza Pahlavi, Iran’s exiled crown prince, conveyed at the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 13. He urged the international community to prepare for political change rather than shore up the current government.
The Munich discussion, moderated by CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, came as Iran faced a sweeping campaign of arrests and intimidation after the country’s bloodiest wave of unrest since 1979. Thousands have been detained in an effort to deter further protests. The demonstrations began on Dec. 28 as a gathering in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar over economic hardships and quickly spread nationwide.
Reza Pahlavi described last month’s protests as a broad rejection of clerical rule, the Islamic Republic’s eroding legitimacy, and confirmation of his support on the streets of Iran. He also highlighted the cost of dissent, saying the authorities had relied on mass arrests, harsh sentences, and lethal force to intimidate Iranians and prevent disparate opposition groups from coalescing into a united alternative.
He said the central question was whether the international community would treat Iran’s political crisis as a permanent feature of the region or as a problem that could be addressed through pressure and support for democratic forces. Western governments, he said, have focused too narrowly on nuclear diplomacy and containment, leaving Iranian civil society exposed even as the state strengthens its security apparatus.
Mr. Pahlavi cast himself as a convener rather than a power seeker. He said his aim was to bring Iran’s diverse opposition currents together around shared principles: Iran’s territorial integrity; separation of “church and state,” meaning religion from government; guaranteed individual freedoms and equality before the law; and free and fair elections.
Any transition, he argued, should be designed to avoid the chaos that has followed state collapse elsewhere. He said meaningful change would require defections from within the Islamic Republic’s governing and security structures to reduce the risk of violence and preserve basic state functions. He said a commitment to justice could help prevent a power vacuum that might invite internal conflict or outside interference.
Mr. Pahlavi also described cooperation with Israel as a pragmatic necessity, reiterating that a democratic Iran would pursue peace and prosperity across the Middle East.
Below is the full transcript of the conversation.
Full Transcript:
Breaking or Repeating the Cycle? Iran’s Next Chapter | Townhall
Christiane Amanpour
ُ[The protests in Iran] started, as we know, with small shopkeepers who closed their stores in the Tehran Bazaar, a reaction to the plummeting standard of living and the increasing poverty Iranians faced. It quickly turned into a political protest against the current government and a demand for freedom and democracy, basic human rights and a standard of living that should be afforded to every decent person since then and during then the the former Crown Prince of Iran, the son of the late Shah of Iran who was overthrown by the Islamic Republic or by the revolutionaries 47 years ago, has emerged as one of the most renowned opposition leaders because his name was heard on the streets of Iran in a way that it hadn’t been heard before it was amplified this time. He has positioned himself as the main opposition leader in exile. So we want to talk to Reza Pahlavi about his plan for a future Iran, should there be such an opportunity, and what it would mean for the world to see Iran potentially take a new direction. Welcome Reza Pahlavi.
Prince Reza Pahlavi
Thank you very much.
Christiane Amanpour
Can I start by asking you a very personal question? 47 years ago, your father was toppled, and the forces of Ayatollah Khomeini came to power, declaring the first Islamic Republic on February 11, 1979. Where were you at the time? What were you thinking? Did you think, as your father and mother and other siblings were leaving the country, that this was it forever,
Prince Reza Pahlavi
Well, I actually was in Lubbock, Texas, undergoing pilot training. When the revolution occurred, the plan was for me to return to Iran after a year of training and perhaps attend the military academy to continue my training. My parents left Iran on January 16, 1979, so basically that was the beginning of our forced exile, and I never got to return to Iran. And ever since, it’s been an odyssey of exile. And when my father passed away in Egypt in the summer of 1980, I was practically engaged in the politics of Iran, opposition politics that were obviously opposed to the current regime. So it’s been 47 years and counting now.
Christiane Amanpour
So clearly, a lot of people in this room, a lot of certainly Western leaders, maybe others, they’ve always had a very, very rough relationship with the current government of Iran, with the Islamic Republic. And every time there is a protest, and there have been many, every time they and the Iranian exiles essentially say, This is it? This is the time that it’s going to happen. I remember being there in 2009 over a disputed election, and I was with the people as they ran in the streets, saying, “It’s going to happen this time.” It’s going to happen this time, which was inside Iran. What do you think made this December-January protest different, bigger, and more intense?
Prince Reza Pahlavi
You know, for all of us who have been involved in the struggle for liberty and freedom against this regime, as you pointed out, there have been many upheavals and perhaps unsuccessful campaigns, yet the regime is still standing. Still, the resolve and perseverance of Iranians have continued in the latest uprising, which, of course, was the women’s life freedom movement. We saw the extent to which Iranians from all walks of life, from the four corners of Iran, including, of course, the diaspora, were supporting it. But I think something that is definitely the game changer, if I could call it that, and, by the same token, the frequency of these protests has increased over the years. If they were separated the first time, I’m thinking of the first student upheaval during the Khatami era. All the way through the Green Movement in 2009 and all the way to the last few years, we’ve seen that the repetition and frequency of these uprisings became shorter and shorter, and of course, this time well beyond a protest because of economic circumstances, what have you, when people start chanting Death to the dictator. That means they’re fed up with the regime. They want political change. They want fundamental change. They no longer believe that reform can achieve that end; this regime simply doesn’t allow any kind of process through which people can decide whether to reject the current government.
So we are forced into revolt, and we started this revolt in the last few months, we saw how many people were chanting the slogans and came to the streets, only to be faced with a severe repression that led to, unfortunately, a genocide level reaction by the regime, shooting people on the street with military weaponry, chasing people in hospitals finish them up, shooting a final shot in their heads on their hospital beds. Women are currently being raped in prison. Soldiers are being arrested and executed for refusing to cooperate with the regime in the repression of people; this is really happening right under our eyes.
There’s a sea of blood that separates today’s Iranian people from this regime. So if you ask me whether this time the nation is fed up and ready to act, the answer is yes. What we need, however, is an equalizing factor, because we saw how the regime treated its own citizens.
That’s where I think a lot of Iranians, inside and outside, hope that an intervention that will neutralize the regime’s instrument of repression will finally give us an opportunity.
Christiane Amanpour
What does that look like? Is that an intervention by the United States? Certainly, even now, I know people inside Iran, and everybody outside Iran, are saying they are waiting for President Trump to actually deliver on what he said. Remember, he said, seize your institutions. Help is on the way. Et cetera. And it didn’t happen.
Prince Reza Pahlavi
Well, not yet. And I think the reason it hasn’t is that, first of all, mobilizing for it isn’t easy. We have to consider many aspects. But most importantly, I think President Trump realizes that he needs to convince the whole world that I’ve given a diplomatic solution or diplomatic effort the maximum chance to see to what extent Iranians, on their side, are willing to settle for what has been asked. It’s unlikely they’ll come close to the demands, which would then say, “By diplomatic means, we haven’t managed to get it done.” So now we can move forward with that.
Christiane Amanpour
You are in touch with the senior American administration officials. Is there a sense that they are also in this with you, so to speak, that they also actually want to see regime change? Because, you know, the latest statement from President Trump after meeting with the Israeli prime minister just this week, he basically said, where are we here? He said nothing definitive was reached in this meeting, other than that I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether a deal could be consummated. If possible, I’ll let the Prime Minister know that will be my preference. So no talk about the people or regime change. How did you read that again?
Prince Reza Pahlavi
I think, for what is obviously an attempt to say, let’s try to resolve this diplomatically. But at the same time, I think President Trump realizes that the Iranian people have been very clear in their ask for support. They actually believed in his promise of help. Is there, hanging there, and that’s a very important position to take. There’s a lot, I think, in terms of maintaining face, that expectation. But never mind my conversations with the US administration, or, for that matter, European politicians. The most important conversation I have is with the people of Iran. And I can tell you, from political prisoners to members of civil society to many Iranians who have been fighting the fight and have been dying on the streets. They are asking the world to intervene. We are asking for a humanitarian intervention to prevent more innocent lives from being killed in the process. We need to have that support and have an equalized playing field so we have a real chance, as unarmed citizens, to overcome this repressive regime.
Christiane Amanpour
You know, again, a month ago, you said you were very confident this was it for the regime. You said the planets were aligned. But as we’ve seen, which has happened over and over again, they come out, the government allows it for a minute, and then they crack down. And they did it again, incredibly swiftly and brutally, as we’ve all been documenting this time.
I want to ask you about what you said as well. You also called on people to come out and told them there would be 50,000 guards of defectors and people who would save and protect them during their demonstrations. That didn’t happen, and they were alone, and they were slaughtered. So why did you say that? What was it based on? And who are the people that you say are defecting? And if not, then when? When are we going to see that?
Prince Reza Pahlavi
Well, look, many elements within the regime structure refused to carry out the orders of repression, and they were severely penalized. We know of some police officers who were executed by the regime for refusing to crack down. We know that the regime had to import from Afghanistan, from Iraq, from Lebanon, elements that were not even Iranian citizens, to do the dirty job. That, to me, is a sign of desperation, knowing that they were pushed back. They panicked, they shot on the internet, and in the darkest of night, they did what they did, to a point that today you have the Chancellor of Germany saying that this regime has lost complete legitimacy.
So maybe, finally, the changing factor will shift from a four-decade-long policy of appeasing this regime toward finding a solution beyond it, most importantly because people are now calling for that; there have already been defections.
We had a specific project as part of the broader movement to require people to demonstrate their intent to defect. Many have applied, and many have reached; many of them are members of the military paramilitary forces. They’re also members of the civil bureaucracy. Now, there’s an extent to which they can do their part, but as long as the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps) and Khamenei are sitting up there using them as an instrument of repression, even if you have defectors, it’s not enough to be a shield of protection.
People were chanting on the streets anyway, and we were successful in pushing the regime back, except that the regime acted as it did. So what do we do now?
We have a temporary retreat. But people are continuing the struggle. They’re continuing to change slogans. You see unprecedented solidarity among Iranians around the world, demonstrating their support. We’ve seen millions of people on the streets of Iran who are doing it. Does Liberty have a price? Of course it does. Are we prepared to die for this cause? Of course we are.
Our whole point is that we don’t have a choice but to fight. We don’t have a choice but to liberate ourselves. And the only way you can minimize the struggle in terms of time and loss of human life is not to be alone in this fight. There’s too much blood between us and this regime. There’s no turning back for us.
So the question is: will the world, this time, be on the right side of history and support the Iranian people in their struggle for liberation? Are we going to go back to business as usual and consider another movement that hasn’t panned out? Much of it depends on a policy of fence-straddling and not committing to either side. This is a choice to be made, because the circumstances exist right now as we speak: there’s an opportunity, a window that could be the game-changer for the whole world.
Christiane Amanpour
I can really hear you trying to call on something, and that’s something, I think, is intervention.
Prince Reza Pahlavi
It is an intervention only because the Iranian people realize that this intervention will eliminate the main, the most important stumbling block between them and liberation, which is the regime’s mechanism of repression, and this killing machine. What does it mean? It means the IRGC. It means any other instrument of repression. It means further economic sanctions. It means cutting the economic regimes. Means to basically pay the checks of their mercenaries at the end of the day. It means putting more diplomatic pressure, expelling their diplomats, shutting their embassy, repurposing the frozen assets that belong to the Iranian people to, in fact, help the Iranian people fund their campaign of labor strikes, help us with the internet, and access to the world. We had specific demands regarding where the world can take steps that will be helpful to this campaign.
Christiane Amanpour
Because I think it’s important not to forget that 47 years ago, it was your family that was overthrown. It was your father who was overthrown. There was a reason for that, and I wonder how you sort of talk about that right now, how you think about that right now, and also, like it or not, Ayatollah Khomeini had a ground game. He had the mosques. He had people who were actually religious. And he had access to the press, as, you know, in Paris. And he had a real operation, you know, cassette smuggled in with his, with his, with his, with his words into the mosques in Iran. I was there during that year of the revolution. I remember it very well.
So this is all to ask you, why do you think a Pahlavi should be the leader again, and how can you do it? What kind of a plan do you have, what kind of a political ground game inside the country? Do you have, I mean, what’s necessary, right? You also have to be able to convince people there and to have an organization.
Prince Reza Pahlavi
Well, when it comes to the name, that’s the name that people chanted on the streets of Iran by the millions in 31 provinces of Iran, in the four corners of Iran, they called my name, they asked me to come to their support, and I have, and I accepted the challenge of leading the transition.
As for our plan, it was developed before the regime’s collapse and, in particular, for the transition after this regime, which is very well documented and presented. It’s an open document. You can see it on the Iran Prosperity Project’s website; it talks about the initial 100 days. How do we manage that process? How do we avoid what happened in Iraq post-Saddam Hussein? Because we don’t want to have the same debatification experience. And one of the key components of this strategy is how much defection can exist, not just because we need them on the side of the people, but because, and that has been my principal position, that anyone who doesn’t have their hands sown with the blood of the Iranian people should survive regime change and have a place in the future. They can be part of the solution rather than remain part of the problem. That’s very critical to maintaining a stable transition on both the civilian and military/paramilitary sides.
Christiane Amanpour
I want to follow up on what you just said. Whoever doesn’t have blood on their hands, but as you know, a lot of your supporters, or people claiming to be your supporters, or, I don’t know, bots online or whatever, have zero tolerance for anybody who’s in Iran right now. They call everybody a collaborator, everybody an appeaser.
There is this incredible woman, Narges Mohammadi, who is a Nobel Peace laureate. She should be a source of pride for her commitment to human rights and the sacrifices she’s made. And yet, online, what people claiming to be your supporters are saying is catastrophic.
So I don’t know whether you want to say something to them, whether you reject this kind of lumping together anybody who actually lives in Iran and has to survive.
Prince Reza Pahlavi
Look, I’ve always spoken against any kind of political violence or intimidation as a matter of principle. And I think this is an opportunity to say that one of our asks is, of course, the immediate release of all political prisoners, which includes Narges Mohammadi. I think when you look at Iran’s future. At the same time, today, we can all be allies for a common cause of liberation and secular democracy as an alternative to this terrible dictatorship. I think we are all in the same boat. We may vote differently tomorrow.
And tomorrow, someone like Narges Mohammadi may choose to run as prime minister or president, that’s fine. Still, today we need to first address the issue of liberation.
On that, I think the vast majority of Iranian secular democrats, whether republicans, monarchists, socialists, conservatives, or representatives of our ethnic groups or religious minorities, when you look at the diversity among us, we are quite united on these principles.
I think that is where we need to stand together, and not allow those who, I think, the regime is behind a lot of these campaigns, to try to discredit not just me but also pose as representatives of this or that group. Because they always tried to play the divide-and-rule game. They always tried, over the years, to make sure that such an array of opposition could never unite in a real sense, what I call, again, and I take the opportunity to remind people, what this struggle is all about.
This struggle is about freedom. This struggle is about the equality of all citizens. This struggle is about freedom of speech. This struggle is all about democracy and the ballot box, and we can certainly compete in the future.
Today is the time to ensure we have the ballot box to determine who has what level of support and who can do this, and to get there first. So we remind ourselves and remind everybody. Our cause is for everyone to fit under this tent, and this tent could be as wide as it can get, so long as we can agree on at least four key principles.
Number one is Iran’s territorial integrity. This is important to many Iranians. Number two is the obvious need for the separation of church and state, which is a prerequisite for democracy. On that, we agree, including many clerics in Iran who have spoken time and again against the velaz. They don’t believe that religion has a place in politics, and they know how much damage was done to the faith as a result of so
Christiane Amanpour
We know that the guiding principle of the Islamic Republic, as represented by the Supreme Leader, is that.
Prince Reza Pahlavi
And we have only clicks from the beginning who were ostracized by the regime. Today, we have one of the leading clerics in Iran, Molavi Abdul Hamid, a Sunni cleric who has spoken against his regime and believes, in fact, as a clergyman, in the separation of church from state. So it’s a fact among Iranian people. Number three is equality under the law for all citizens and individual liberties. And number four is the right of the Iranian people to determine their own future, which is exactly the agenda of the transitional government: to ensure that the Iranian people can elect their representatives to the Constitutional Assembly to decide, first, what they want for their future.
And unlike 1979, when nobody had a clue what the Islamic Republic meant, but a clear option as to what the diverse possibilities allow for a constitutional assembly to draft a constitution, allow for people to either adopt it by a referendum or reject it, and have another draft, all for it to finally end up with a ratified constitution approved by the nation. Then we will have the elections of the first parliament and the first government of that future democracy, whether it ends up being a republic or a constitutional monarchy, that’s exactly what the people will decide. And the minute this happens, the transitional government dissolves itself and turns over control to the elected members of the Iranian parliament and government. That’s the end of the transition process. I’m going to get you onto the next.
Christiane Amanpour
But I really do need to ask you, will you tell your supporters, online or wherever they might be, to stop in your name this kind of attack on ordinary Iranians? Because it’s very terrifying.
Prince Reza Pahlavi
I have, and they know it, and it’s not only them. This should be a principle for everyone to follow.
There should be no place for political violence or intimidation, and we should all adhere to these principles. I’m not talking just to one group. I’m talking to every single Iranian out there, regardless of their political affiliation.
We need to show and demonstrate that exactly that’s where we differ a regime that is in a punitive way, forcing an ideology and has been discriminating against every possible aspect of people disagreeing with them, as opposed to those of us who cherish the values of freedom, have tolerance for other viewpoints, believe in pluralism, and that’s exactly how we define ourselves as a contrast to this regime.
We have to show it beyond words through action, and that’s something I was called to do.
I cannot control millions of people or what they say on social media, and I can’t verify who they are. [I can only stress and have, and I’ve condemned it.]
I think many people in this room are aware that I’ve often reposted my statements and have done my part as much as possible to condemn that type of behavior, which I will not tolerate and will not stand for.
Christiane Amanpour
To your role. What do you want to represent? If there were this opportunity, would you want to be king? Do you want to be president? What is your role in this situation?
Prince Reza Pahlavi
You know, from the first day I started, I considered my mission in life to bring the country to a point where we can’t have that final referendum, and the people can elect their first democratic government. That, to me, is the finish line and mission accomplished in life. I don’t have any personal ambition. I’m not seeking power.
I don’t want to have a crown on my head or a title, but I think they should see me as a bridge to that destination, not the destination itself. That’s my focus. And any other argument about whether I will have a future role is putting the cart before the horse.
My focus is on delivering on what I promised 47 years ago, which has been my commitment ever since. And the reason millions of people in Iran are calling me and my name and want my return is because they know that they can trust me on this I’m the only person that was not part of the revolution or ever associated with this regime, and that’s a big plus when it comes to how many candidates are out there, and that’s why you hear my name chanted on the streets of Iran. Many people in the diaspora also support it.
Christiane Amanpour
I remember covering the Ahmadinejad era in Iran, and it was a very aggressive posture on every issue, including anti-Semitism, anti-Israel, talking about wiping it off the face of the map. Very, very violent. And I think it really, really put, certainly, the Israelis and Jews around the world off. You have been to Israel. You have, I believe, visited the Western Wall. You have supported, you are supported by this Israeli government.
I want to know what you think and why you think that’s important. Because, equally, this Israeli government has shown itself to be incredibly intolerant of its own citizens’ rights, its Muslim citizens’ rights inside Israel, and, of course, in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and it’s very controversial.
Could you explain why you think that is an important relationship to build?
Prince Reza Pahlavi
Well, first, I think there are only two nations on this planet that can claim a biblical relationship with one another. One is Israel. One is Iran. It goes back to the time of Cyrus the Great. Cyrus the Great, who liberated the Jewish enslaved people in Babylon and helped them rebuild their temple in Jerusalem.
And when Iranians go and gather at Pasargadae around Cyrus the Great two years ago, of all walks of life, of different ethnicities, different religions that celebrate Cyrus the Great, because he represents all the values that Iranians cherish and believe in, and say that we are not a nation at war with our neighbors.
We can be trusted partners in the region, working with the Arab countries, working with Israel, as opposed to a regime that is acting the way it did. That’s the difference, right there.
We need to be able to show the world that Iranians, unlike this regime, are committed to a friendly relationship with our neighbors. We don’t have any issue with the Arabs. We don’t have any issue with the Israelis.
And why is Israel important? Because I think it is a very important strategic partner to Iran. When it comes to this, I’m thinking beyond the politics. I’m talking about the water crisis in Iran, which is a major issue for us, well beyond politics. If there’s no water, there’s no life. And guess who has the best specialists and experts in the world dealing with water issues? Israeli experts.
One of the reasons I went to Israel was to talk about that as well. And there are so many ways that we can engage and partner with them, helping us in that area. And as opposed to a regime that says, “No, they don’t even have the right to exist”-that’s the difference. So it’s not necessarily focused on a single country. It’s a regional thing, but most importantly, from the prism of whether it’s Europe or the United States, why can’t we as people of that region be the ones working together to bring about stability without having to depend on an armada of US aircraft carriers to maintain stability and peace in the region?
Why can’t we work together? That’s the difference, because Iranians are committed to that. And when you look at how it’s perceived inside Iran, let’s remember one thing the regime has been the one financing its proxies, Hezbollah, Hamas, when they got over $200 billion a few years ago that was spent not on Iranians that are starving on the streets, but to, in fact, empower these proxies that led perhaps to October 7.
When people for years have been chanting in Iran, “neither Gaza nor Lebanon, My life will be sacrificed for Iran,” that means what? That means, not Hamas, not Hezbollah. And in that sense, it’s a very clear demarcation from this regime. This is not me saying it. This is people chanting it for years to come, before the mass uprising, after the mass uprising, that’s part of the national psyche today, in every demonstration we see in the diaspora, you see that it’s the Iranian national flag.
A lot of time we see the Israeli flag and the respective flag of the country where they live tomorrow in the rally, you probably see a lot of German flags, as we saw Australian flag in Australia, as we saw the Canadian flag in Toronto and Montreal, or the American flag in LA showing that Iranians are respective, universally, of any peace loving nations. They are respectful of their host country. That’s the difference between us and this regime, which is basically so antagonistic.
I think that’s basically the spirit of our movement, demonstrated by the love of Iranians who say, “We are not this regime.” We are not warmongers. We want to be the peacemakers.
Christiane Amanpour
There is so much more we could talk about. This is a very good table layout for your plans and your proposals. I just want to open it up to one person on the floor, because you remember, after the women’s life freedom protests, there was the Georgetown Coalition, which saw you on stage uniting with many diaspora activists, including Nazanin Boniadi and Masih Alinejad. I think they’re both here, but we’re going to ask Nazenin to stand up. And of course, that didn’t last. It didn’t last. It was just a very brief moment of unity. And I don’t know whether Nazanin wants to say anything on behalf of, you know, the opposition.
Nazanin Boniadi
Thank you so much for the important conversation, Shaz. It’s good to see you. As you reiterated today, you have consistently affirmed your commitment to democracy. It’s specifically a tolerant secular democracy. A lot of people, a lot of Iranians, look to you because of your commitment to this over decades, and particularly because of your commitment to building institutional democracy and cultural democracy, really democracy that covers all of culture in Iran, and the truth is that the brutality of the regime has caused deep wounds. Iranians are rightfully filled with disdain, and many seek vengeance even. But history has shown that any revolution fueled by anger often results in the very injustices we’re trying to escape.
My question to you is: how do we collectively channel that anger so that we’re building democratic institutions and reconciliation, and focusing on the rule of law, and really focusing not only on bringing down tyranny but on creating liberty. Thank you.
Prince Reza Pahlavi
Well, you and I have had so many conversations over the years. I salute your commitment, stepping away from a career to engage in advocacy for human rights, and your speech at the UN and other venues.
We need to show that there’s a culture that is needed there. The instruments of democracy are not enough; even if you have the best constitution, if, culturally, we don’t adopt pluralism and tolerance as part of our behavior, civility should be the way to go rather than revenge and settling scores. Of course, we need to encourage that. You know how many times I’ve explained my call for, ultimately, national reconciliation. How many times have we spoken about amnesty? But we cannot deny the Iranian people their day in court, grieving mothers, martyrs, and people who have died by this repression. We cannot escape the need for justice, which is why many of the efforts are led by experts in the field.
We have many lawyers who are working on that, you know, fact-finding about what happened, truth and reconciliation, transitional justice, because all of this plays into giving people closure without having to resort to vengeance. That’s very important. So the more we equip our society, and a lot of it is civil society’s role. A lot of it has to do with our activists and our experts.
I think it could help us institutionalize and have the instances that protects us as a society, as a nation, from all the possible deviation we need to adopt all possible processes that have proven to be successful in such transition that happened in other countries post collapse of very totalitarian and ruthless regimes, whether it was South Africa, whether it was the Soviet Union or many other instances, there are so many models to implement or emulate, but most importantly is to make sure that we, in fact, show how different we are than this regime.
Because we start acting like them, then what’s the difference? And I’m glad to have people like you helping with this. We need to encourage more people to weigh in.
Look, a lot of us have lived in three societies for the past four decades, and I have, and there are a lot of people in Iran who were not even born at the time of the revolution. Today’s Gen Z in Iran is very much on par with this. In fact, most of what I hear from inside Iran is that some issues you hear outside may not even concern us. We are all very united, but we need help. We need to make sure that we are not alone in this, that there is a reinforcement factor that’s where people who are wise enough to understand that we have to materially and structurally help the nation, have to understand that before we agree on disagreeing, we have to agree on what we all are in common, in need of. So it’s really a national challenge, if you will. I think this national challenge transcends political affiliation and particular tendencies. How can I say that?
It doesn’t matter whether you’re a socialist or a conservative. It shouldn’t matter if you’re a Republican or a monarchist. It should matter that we all believe in democracy at the end and the rule of law and the protection under that law; that’s the way we will put an end to discrimination, whether it’s against women, ethnic groups, religious minorities, and everything else between us. We can do that because we have learned these values through experience, and we have the opportunity today to put them into practice.
So I’m encouraging activists, I’m encouraging journalists, and our political prisoners. I’m encouraging our civil society and those of us with more freedom to speak to make sure that people inside don’t have to be our voice first, and that we support them. That’s how it starts, and hopefully we’ll end it in Iran itself.
Christiane Amanpour
All right. Reza Pahlavi, thank you very much indeed.
