Iran’s
exiled prince tells Europe to get off the fence and back the war
Reza
Pahlavi, in comments to POLITICO, urges European leaders to support regime
change and his plan for realizing democratic rule.
March 2,
2026 1:27 am CET
By Tim
Ross
LONDON —
The exiled “crown prince” of Iran is calling on Europe’s leaders to back Donald
Trump’s military campaign and support efforts to replace the religious
dictatorship with democracy.
Reza
Pahlavi, whose father, the last shah, was overthrown in the 1979 revolution,
said the ayatollah’s regime is “collapsing” after two days of bombardment from
Israeli and American forces, which killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his
top commanders.
But the
initial European response to the attacks was divided, cautious and muted in any
support for the airstrikes. In comments to POLITICO, Pahlavi welcomed recent EU
moves to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a
terrorist organization but called for more active backing for the U.S.-led
assault on the regime.
“The
military operation is a humanitarian rescue mission and will save many lives,”
Pahlavi said. “Europe’s decision to proscribe the IRGC is welcome but it now
needs to go further and support our transition plan to rebuild Iran. Europe has
too long sat on the fence. This is the moment of decision. Stand with the
Iranian people.”
His
comments came after European governments first urged restraint, raising
concerns about the risks of war spreading through the region and questioning
the legitimacy of the action under international law. France’s President
Emmanuel Macron called the escalation of the conflict “dangerous.” France,
Germany and the U.K. said the Iranian regime should return to negotiations over
its nuclear program.
There
were signs that leading European powers were shifting their positions on Sunday
to support limited involvement in the conflict in response to growing threats
from Iranian retaliation.
On Sunday
night, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the U.K. would reverse its
earlier position and allow U.S. forces to use its air bases for operations,
while the French and German leaders also indicated they stood ready to enable
defensive action to destroy Iranian missile sites if necessary, working with
the Americans.
In a new
statement on Sunday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said
she backed regime change.
Pahlavi
thanked the U.S. and Israel for their “leadership” in his statement to
POLITICO. “But the final victory will need to be forged by the Iranian people
on the ground,” he said. “I have a plan for a stable transition to democracy.
We are making our final preparations for the transitional government to lead
the country to stability and peace.”
One of
the biggest questions arising from Trump’s attacks on Iran is who could take
over from the ayatollahs when the opposition to the regime has been so
fragmented.
Pahlavi
is putting himself forward as the leader who can steer a transitional
administration and serve as a bridge to democracy and has been in contact with
the White House in recent weeks. He has mapped out a plan for how this can be
achieved and has previously promised to step back once a new constitution is in
place.
But not
everyone in the Iranian opposition is a supporter, and the Pahlavi monarchy
remains a divisive feature of Iran’s history, with its own record of police
brutality in the past. Some of Pahlavi’s critics have also accused his
supporters of being abusive and threatening to those who take divergent views.
However,
even those who would not welcome the return of the monarchy concede that
Pahlavi is one of the few opposition figures with nationwide name recognition.
He seemed to be able to persuade hundreds of thousands of protesters to take to
the streets during mass demonstrations that swept the country earlier this
year, before the regime killed thousands in a crackdown.
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário