President Donald Trump should stop sending mixed messages about its intentions in the Iran war and instead “finish the job” of ousting Tehran’s Islamist regime, the son of Iran’s last shah said Tuesday.
Reza Pahlavi’s criticism of Trump comes as the U.S. and Iran have exchanged proposals for a long-term peace process amid a fragile ceasefire. Pahlavi, who in general has backed Trump, said the U.S. and Israel should continue airstrikes and other attacks on Iranian targets until Iranian citizens feel empowered enough to hit the streets and act as ground troops in toppling the regime.
By agreeing to a ceasefire and talks with the leadership in Tehran, Trump was sending “mixed signals” that could ultimately entrench the regime, Pahlavi said during an interview at POLITICO’s Security Summit.
“Now that you have a wounded beast, this is not an opportunity that you should let go to finish the job and get it over with,” Pahlavi said in the appearance, which also was taped live for The Conversation.
Pahlavi was Iran’s crown prince before the country’s 1979 revolution toppled his father. The prince was in his late teens and in the U.S. during the overthrow and has not returned to Iran since, spending most of his time in the Washington, D.C., area.
The exiled opposition figure stressed that it was a mistake for U.S. officials and other global players to believe that the Iranian regime could be reasoned with or change its behavior for the better.
“Should diplomacy be given a chance? Of course it should,” Pahlavi said, dismissively. “But then again … we know by now that in its DNA, [the regime] is incapable of coming to terms with coexistence with a free democratic [society]. It has as a mission to export an ideology.”
Pahlavi also said that Trump’s occasional threats to attack Iranian civilian infrastructure and wipe out Iranian “civilization” — even if merely a negotiating tactic — were not helpful, “because, again, it’s part of sending the mixed signal,” only this time, to the Iranian people, who will wonder, “Are you here to liberate us or further hurt us?”
In recent years, Pahlavi has described himself as the leader of the Iranian democratic opposition. He and his followers have, often through hardline tactics, tried to sideline other Iranian opposition activists and movements.
The effort has raised his profile in political circles around the world, although Trump has downplayed Pahlavi’s ability to serve as a leader in a future Iran. Pahlavi has said he wants to lead a transition to secular democratic rule, and his supporters have crafted a detailed plan for a post-regime Iran. While he himself doesn’t say so, many of his supporters view him as a future monarch.
Many Iranians in the diaspora are unhappy, and even fearful, of aggressive maneuvers by Pahlavi’s aides and supporters. A pair of Pahlavi supporters have been charged in an alleged murder case in Canada, though there are no allegations against Pahlavi himself.
Asked about this Tuesday, Pahlavi repeated his usual talking points — that he disavows political violence and that the regime has tried to sow divisions in the opposition.
Pahlavi also claims that at least 50,000 people inside Iran’s military and bureaucratic apparatus have contacted him about their desire to defect. When asked where those defectors have been as the regime has further internally cracked down in recent months, however, Pahlavi said many were likely unsure where the conflict was headed and did not want to expose themselves too soon, especially if the U.S. struck a deal that left the regime in place.
In recent years, Pahlavi has increasingly allied himself with Republicans, Israel and other factions who have demanded harsh measures on Iran’s Islamist regime.
He insisted that ordinary Iranians in the country understand that the U.S. and Israel oppose the regime, not the Iranian people.
“The majority of the Iranian people look at this as a liberation campaign,” he said.
Pahlavi criticizes Trump for sending mixed signals on Iran
Source: Viral Showbiz Pinay
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