Prince Reza Pahlavi: “A Free Iran is No Longer a Hope, It is a Certainty”

Coinciding with the sixth month commemoration of the nationwide protests of December 18-19, Prince Reza Pahlavi released a detailed message remembering those who lost their lives in these demonstrations. While emphasizing the continuation of the struggle for Iran’s freedom, he called on the international community not to prioritize political agreements with the Islamic Republic over the wishes of the Iranian people. In his message, he stated clearly: “A free Iran is no longer a hope, it is a certainty.” These positions come as he has, in recent weeks, reiterated in conversations with international media the necessity of supporting the Iranian people and ending the rule of the Islamic Republic.

Prince Reza Pahlavi, in a message marking the sixth month anniversary of the nationwide protests of December 18-19, described these two days as a turning point in Iran’s contemporary history. He wrote that even the nationwide blackout could not prevent people from taking to the streets. Referring to the widespread crackdown on protesters, he remembered those killed, arrested, and sentenced in these protests, emphasizing the continuation of their path.

Prince Reza Pahlavi stated in his message:

“Six months ago, on such a night, Tehran fell into darkness. All of Iran fell into darkness. But even that darkness could not keep millions of Iranians in their homes.

December 18-19 were not merely two nights of protest. They were nights when Iran’s silence was broken. Millions came to the streets, filled the squares, and stood on the rooftops of their homes, but the regime responded with bullets. In those forty-eight hours, tens of thousands of my countrymen lost their lives. From that day to this moment, tens of thousands more have been arrested, tortured, or condemned to death.

They came to the streets with determination and bravery. I think of them every day. In those two nights, I lost compatriots whom I will never have the chance to see again. For me, the number 40,000 is never just a statistic. Every time I hear it, I see a boy who will never return to his mother’s embrace. I see a girl whose place at her family’s table will forever remain empty. I know each of them as I would my own child, brother, or sister, and I feel the weight of each one’s name upon my shoulders. Yet every week when I meet with the families of the fallen, the resolve of my people to continue this path grows stronger. Their children did not die in vain. They died for freedom and with their heads held high.

History will not forget the sacrifice of these men and women, and I will not allow their names and path to be forgotten. Just as the resistance fighters of occupied Europe stood against tyranny, and just as the American revolutionaries fought for freedom, the children of Iran stood firm. But their courage had another quality. They had no army, no air support, and no backing except their belief in the ideal for which they had risen. Yet they stood. A united people decided to stand together against the bullets rather than live even one more day in fear. The men and women of December 18-19 will remain in Iran’s history as an eternal generation that preferred a free and dignified death to a life in chains and on their knees.”

He then addressed the international community, saying: “Do not allow what is being decided in negotiation rooms in Geneva or Islamabad to obscure the truth of what happened in the streets of Tehran, Mashhad, and Kermanshah. They died for freedom, and with a free Iran, the Strait of Hormuz will open, the nuclear threat will end, and we will achieve true peace.”
Reza Pahlavi continued in his message: “I have told my countrymen that what you began on December 18-19 is an irreversible path. Together, we will reclaim our nation’s rightful place in the world, restore our national dignity, and keep the memory of our heroes alive by building a free Iran. Now is the time to pause, regain our strength, and dedicate ourselves anew to victory.

We honor the memory of the fallen by completing the path they began. A free Iran is no longer a hope. It is a certainty, and the world must know that my brave countrymen are not fighting for their freedom alone. They are fighting for the peace and stability of the world.”

These positions are consistent with Reza Pahlavi’s recent statements in conversations with international media. In an interview with Euronews, he warned that any agreement that leads to the survival of the Islamic Republic will only be an opportunity for the regime to rebuild its power, and he emphasized that the only way to achieve lasting stability in the region is the end of Islamic Republic rule and the establishment of a secular and democratic government in Iran.

Reza Pahlavi has also, in recent weeks, through appearances and speeches in Europe, again called on Western governments to abandon their policy of appeasement toward the Islamic Republic and, instead of focusing on negotiations with the regime, support the Iranian people’s desire for freedom and democracy. He believes that the future for which the Iranian people are fighting will strengthen not only the security and prosperity of Iranians, but also the peace and stability of the region.