‘I will return to Iran’, crown prince vows – as he asks world to do six things to help protesters
“My brave compatriots… need your urgent help right now,” Reza Pahlavi now says.
The ruling Iranian regime is “lashing out, like a wounded animal, desperate to cling to power”, he adds – because it is “close to collapse”.
He also reiterates his offer to lead a new Iranian government and that he will soon return to the country:
“Today, as my compatriots call on me for leadership, I reaffirm my lifelong pledge by stepping in to lead the movement that will take back our country from the anti-Iranian hostile force that occupies it and kills its children.
“I will return to Iran. I am uniquely positioned to ensure a stable transition.
“That’s not my opinion. That’s the verdict delivered loudly and clearly by the people in the face of bullets.”
Pahlavi says he had “a comprehensive plan for an orderly transition, which is ready to be implemented immediately”.
‘Asking world to do six things’
As Pahlavi is pleading with the international community for help, he says he is asking “the world to do six things”:
- Protect the Iranian people by degrading the regime’s repressive capacity, including targeting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard leadership and its command and control infrastructure;
- Deliver and sustain maximum economic pressure on the regime;
- Enabling unrestricted internet access;
- Expelling Iranian diplomats from capitals and pursue legal enforcement actions against those responsible for crimes against humanity;
- Demand the immediate release of all political prisoners;
- Prepare for a democratic transition in Iran by committing to recognise a legitimate transitional government when the moment comes.
‘Global stability depends on it’
Pahlavi also stresses that “supporting the Iranian people is not an act of charity, nor is it unwarranted interference”.
“Global stability itself depends on the removal of this regime,” he says.
“This does not require putting boots on the ground – the Iranian people’s boots are already on the ground.”
