Reza Pahlavi Tells UN: Stop the Killing of Iranians
Reza Pahlavi, Iran’s former crown prince, in a letter to the UN Secretary-General called for the use of “all available capabilities and tools” by the organization to “prevent the massacre” of Iranians by the Islamic Republic.
The son of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iran’s last shah, referring to the brutal suppression of November protests and the killing of hundreds of protesters, including children in Iran, asked the UN Secretary-General to “take immediate action to end this massacre and utilize all available capabilities and tools, including the capacity of the UN Security Council.”
Prince Reza Pahlavi wrote in an open letter to António Guterres dated December 9: “The United Nations, which has accepted the protection of human rights as one of its primary duties, can no longer remain silent as a spectator; rather, it must take immediate and necessary action to stop the massacre of Iranians by the Islamic Republic.”
Referring to a letter he had written in 2012 to the former head of the organization to refer “documented and legally sound allegations” against the Islamic Republic “to the International Criminal Court,” he described the responsibility of the new UN chief as heavier than before and considered “silence in the United Nations” to mean “turning a blind eye to the actions of the Islamic Republic.”
Reza Pahlavi emphasized that the regime, with “savage repression and massacre of Iranians, is seeking to destroy the Iranian nation and history.” He pointed to the internet shutdown and disruption of landline and mobile phones during recent unrest, describing the purpose of these measures as preventing the world from witnessing the “reckless massacre of Iranian protesters.”
“Genocide” of the Iranian People
Reza Pahlavi described in his letter to Guterres what the Iranian people are facing as “practically a genocide,” and referring to “systematic arrests, torture, and killing of many Iranians because of their cultural identity and national aspirations,” he considered the “brutalities and cruelties” of the Iranian regime as “instances of crimes against humanity.”
He stressed that although the recent protests were sparked by a 200 percent increase in gasoline prices, the root of this uprising was “widespread discontent of the Iranian people” with the Islamic Republic regime.
Amnesty International has announced the death toll from recent protests in Iran as 208 people. Hundreds have been wounded and thousands arrested, with the fate of many of them still unknown.
Fateme Hosseini, head of the technology and innovation faction of the Iranian parliament, said on Wednesday, December 10, in an interview with ILNA that the direct damage to technology sector businesses in Iran following the internet shutdown amounts to 2,500 billion tomans daily.
