Prince Reza Pahlavi: Time to Stand with the Iranian People, Not Negotiate with the Regime
Prince Reza Pahlavi, in a note published by the French newspaper “Le Figaro,” warned against fresh efforts to reach an agreement with the Islamic Republic and emphasized that any negotiation with Iran’s government, while domestic repression continues, will only lead to the perpetuation of this system and the intensification of human rights violations. He called on Western governments to support the Iranian people’s demands for freedom and transition to a democratic system, instead of engaging in dialogue with Islamic Republic officials.
In this article, Reza Pahlavi distinguished between two types of diplomacy, writing: “One type of diplomacy brings peace and protects freedom, while another type of diplomacy leads to slavery and domination.” He placed the proposed 14-point agreement with the Islamic Republic in the second category and argued that Iran’s government has repeatedly used negotiations over the past four decades to reduce international pressure and rebuild its security and military capabilities, rather than to change behavior or implement genuine reforms.
Further, referring to the widespread repression of protesters in Iran, he claimed that the government, instead of being accountable for the violence, continues to exploit diplomatic opportunities to consolidate its power. Reza Pahlavi emphasized: “This regime doesn’t buy peace through negotiations, it buys time. Time to rebuild networks of repression, rearm militias, and prepare for the next wave of crackdowns.”
Prince Reza Pahlavi also wrote to Western governments that the policy of the past four decades toward the Islamic Republic has failed to change this government’s behavior and the time has now come for foreign policy priorities to shift toward supporting the Iranian people, rather than continuing negotiations with those in power. He called on governments to recognize the Iranian people’s protest movement, support the documentation of human rights violations, and refrain from granting political concessions to the Islamic Republic as long as repression continues.
In the concluding section of this note, Pahlavi expressed confidence that Iran’s future will be determined by the people of the country and that the protest movement, transcending ethnic, religious, and generational divisions, is moving toward a common goal: creating a free, democratic country based on the rule of law. He concluded by emphasizing: “Iran does not need anyone to negotiate with its executioners for a transition away from this system. Iran needs that finally, clearly and unambiguously, the movement of its people toward freedom be recognized.”
