Western appeasement of Iran has failed, says Shah's son

Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, son of the last Shah of Iran Photo: Clara Malden for The Telegraph/Clara Malden for The Telegraph

The West needs a mate leaders in the style of Reagan and Thatcher to confront Tehran because the current policy of appeasement has failed, Iran's exiled crown prince told The Telegraph.

Reza Pahlavi, the eldest son of the late last Shah of Iran, is the founder and former leader of the National Council Iran, an exiled opposition group he left in 2017, and a prominent critic of the Islamic regime of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

He said Western leaders «on both sides of the Atlantic» were taking a «weak approach» to the Islamic Republic and called for a «reset» of Europe's relations with Tehran, starting with a ban on the Islamic republic. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization

The 63-year-old prince also indirectly criticized Rishi Sunak for not doing enough to counter threats and intimidation against Iranian journalists based in London.“The regime is trying to harm or threaten not only dissidents, but even British citizens. » he said, referring to the murder of Pouria Zeraati, Iran's international television presenter, outside his home at Wimbledon last month.

What was gained from the reluctance to «react in one way or another?» he asked.

The West needs a pair of Reagan-Thatcher-style leaders to confront Tehran, the prince said. Photo: Gary Hershorn/Reuters

He argued that the «main reason» for Iran's malign influence in the Middle East — especially its antagonistic role towards Israel — was the West's «appeasement» policy.

«This was always based on the expectation of a change in regime behavior, which didn't pan out,» he said, adding that what was needed was a revival of «an era when there was stronger leadership that changed the world in a very meaningful way: Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher at the end of the Cold War.»

“Right now you see what [Vladimir] Putin is doing in Moscow, you see what the Chinese are doing,” he added. . “What [is being] done to counter this in terms of decisive, strong and coordinated leadership in the West? I can't see anything.»

The prince spoke to The Telegraph in a modest apartment building in a posh corner of central Washington earlier this week, before Israel struck an Iranian air defense radar system near the city of Isfahan in retaliation for the attack. Tehran.

The suburbs of the US capital have been home to him, his wife and three daughters for decades, although he previously called them a “temporary place to live” in the hope that one day he could return to his homeland.

The prince left Iran in 1977 at the age of 17 to undergo air force training in America. Two years later, his father Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown during the Islamic Revolution, and the royal family has been in exile ever since.

After his father's death in 1980, the prince declared himself the new Shah of Iran in exile, although because Iran's royal family was a constitutional monarchy, he was never officially installed.

Dressed in an elegant dark suit, with an expensive watch adorning him wrist, the prince's retinue calls him «His Majesty.» As do his most devoted followers among the multi-million Iranian diaspora.

He has previously said he is not seeking to restore the monarchy in Iran, but remains an important figurehead for opposition figures and Iranians in exile.

It is a role he takes seriously, saying «we» when speaking when discussing the plight of Iranians during an interview.

Over the past few decades, he has made rallying opposition to Iran's theocratic regime his life's work, regularly traveling throughout Europe and America to campaign for a secular and democratic Iran and advocate for its oppressed citizens.

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He became visibly upset when asked about ongoing diplomatic efforts with Tehran.

“There are still people in the Western world who think they still have this dialogue within the status quo and hoping that 'maybe we can revive this deal' or 'maybe we can make this agreement,'» he said, leaning forward in his chair and making hand gestures to emphasize his point.

» This essentially throws the can aside,” he added. “Diplomacy has failed. Appeasement failed. Any continuation of the same thing, frankly speaking, is madness.”