Prince Reza Pahlavi: Islamic Republic Has Sacrificed Soldiers’ Lives for Its Own Survival

In response to recent U.S. strikes on Islamic Republic military facilities, Prince Reza Pahlavi accused the Iranian government of sacrificing conscript soldiers’ lives to preserve its own survival, calling on families to prevent their sons from military service under current conditions and emphasizing that “Iran needs its children alive, not war casualties that the Islamic Republic has imposed on the country.”

Prince Reza Pahlavi held the Iranian government directly responsible for the deaths of conscript forces following recent U.S. strikes on Islamic Republic military centers that killed several soldiers. He stated that Islamic Republic leaders, while hiding in secure shelters themselves, have left young soldiers unprotected in military facilities.

In a statement posted on social media, he described the Islamic Republic as the primary cause of the current situation, writing:

“While the warmongers of the Islamic Republic hide in Tehran and their secure shelters, they have abandoned conscript soldiers and young forces in defenseless barracks, without even having the capability to protect these troops. This regime has once again demonstrated that between the lives of Iran’s children and its own survival, it always chooses its own survival.

The Islamic Republic has imposed this war on the Iranian nation, and responsibility for the lives of all its victims, including soldiers in Bampour barracks, rests with this government. We all desire peace, security, and stability for all Iranians, but as long as this regime remains in power, neither lasting security nor genuine peace is possible.

This corrupt regime is more concerned with preserving Hezbollah Lebanon and its other proxy forces in the region than with the security of the Iranian people. For this regime, the survival of its terrorist arms is more important than the security and lives of people in Ahvaz, Zahedan, Bandar Abbas, Bushehr, Chabahar, and across Iran.

My message is to soldiers, officers, and all patriotic forces. Do not risk your lives for the survival of the Islamic Republic. Your oath is to Iran, not to a regime whose leaders flee in moments of danger and leave you defenseless.

I deeply sympathize with the grieving families of conscript soldiers who died in recent strikes on Islamic Republic military facilities, and I urge all conscript soldiers’ families to prevent their sons from being sent to military service under these dangerous conditions to the extent possible. No parent should send their child to barracks that have today become battlefields instead of service centers.

These young people are children of this land, not human shields for the Islamic Republic. They should not pay the price of preserving a failing government with their lives.

I also sincerely thank the noble people of Iranshahr and Zahedan who rushed to donate blood and aid the wounded soldiers of Bampour barracks. This national solidarity reminds us of the truth that the Iranian people do not abandon their children even in the darkest days. Iran needs its children alive, to build a free, prosperous, and dignified future.”

These remarks were issued as recent U.S. strikes on Islamic Republic military facilities, including Bampour barracks in Sistan and Baluchestan province, have resulted in the deaths and injuries of military personnel and conscript soldiers. Reports from inside Iran also indicate widespread participation of citizens in blood donations for those wounded in these strikes.

In another section of his message, Prince Reza Pahlavi drew a distinction between the government and the Iranian people, emphasizing that Iranians desire peace and security but, in his view, lasting peace will not be possible as long as the Islamic Republic remains in power.

He also addressed military forces and conscript soldiers, urging them not to risk their lives to preserve the Islamic Republic and reminding them that the military oath must be to Iran, not to a government that, according to him, abandons its forces defenseless in times of crisis.