Exiled Crown Prince: “Free Iran is not a Fantasy”

M.A. Dworkin 

The Middle East - The exiled Crown Prince of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, told the Conservative Action Conference (CPAC) in Houston, that “freedom in Iran is within reach.”

The son of Iran’s last Shah made the comment during his speech to a crowd of conservatives in Grapetree, Texas. 

“A free Iran is not a fantasy, Pahlavi said. “A free Iran is within reach right now, but as we all know, freedom never comes free.”

Pahlavi encouraged the U.S. to “stay the course. Do not throw this crumbling regime a lifeline. Pave the way for the Iranian people to finish the job.”

His comments came as the war against Iran by the U.S. and Israel seemed to be intensifying with a recent missile attack on a base in Saudi Arabia which injured twelve American soldiers.

Pahlavi reiterated his recent call to run Iran in the interim as the country sets up a democratic election process to select its next leader. 

“Millions of Iranians have called on me to lead the transition to Democracy,” Pahlavi said to loud applause from the conservative crowd. “I have accepted that call not to serve myself, but to serve my nation and my people.”

President Trump said he would extend a pause on striking Iranian energy and infrastructure, however Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused Israel of violating this agreement in strikes on Iran’s two largest steel plants. Araghachi has vowed to “extract a Heavy Price” against joint Israeli-U.S. military operations. 

“Life can never go back to normal,” the exiled Crown Prince claimed. “There is a sea of blood between the people and the regime,” he said referring to the massacres that took place before the war began when the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered the slaughter of thousands of peaceful protestors in the streets of Tehran. “After all the massacres, after all they have sacrificed, they will never agree to swap one tyrant for another.”

Pahlavi praised Trump’s military attacks against Tehran.

“The Iranian story is not yet finished. Great civilizations outlast even the most vicious occupiers. With your help and with courage, sacrifice and heroism of Iran’s greatest youth, our best, latest chapter is being written right now.

“When it is done, a free and Democratic Iran will stand alongside the United States as a partner, an ally and a friend,” he continued. “President Trump is making America great again. I intend to make Iran great again.”

The Pahlavi Dynasty ruled Iran for nearly 54 years from 1925 to 1979. The last Shah of Iran, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, was a very close, pro-Western ally of the United States throughout his reign (1941-1979). He maintained a strongly pro-American policy, acting as a dependable Cold War partner in the Middle East, particularly after his return to power in 1953 with help from a CIA-M16(US/UK)-backed coup. 

From 1951 to 1953 Mohammad Mosaddegh took over as Prime Minister when he was confirmed by the Shah after a landslide vote by the Iranian Parliament. His premiership was defined by the nationalization of the Iranian oil industry. The coup that brought the Shah back to power was driven by the UK and U.S. desires to reverse the nationalization and prevent a perceived communist takeover of Iran during the Cold War.

After the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the Shah’s government was overthrown by the present anti-American regime, the Islamic Republic of Iran.