Yale Bulletin and Calendar

November 9, 2001

Volume 30, Number 10

Iran is 'buckle' of 'terror belt,'
warns exiled crown prince

Seven of the FBI's 21 most-wanted terrorists have a safe haven in Iran, a country which has been "funding, training and inspiring the bin Ladens of this world" ever since the fundamentalist Islamic government came to power 22 years ago, Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, son of the former Shah of Iran, said during a campus visit.

In fact, the "buckle" of the "terror belt" that extends from Afghanistan to Iraq is centered in the Iranian capital of Tehran, Pahlavi told a capacity crowd in William L. Harkness Hall. He spoke there as the 2001 Arnold Wolfers Fellow on the topic "Iran's Dilemma: The Islamic Republic and the Current Crisis in the Middle East."

The elder son of the late Shah, Pahlavi was heir to the throne until his family was forced into exile during the 1979 revolution that brought the current Islamic clerical regime to power. Educated at the University of Southern California and trained in the U.S. Air Force, Pahlavi has lived in this country since 1984.

During his talk, Pahlavi expressed his sympathy to the American people for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and said that he has been asked by "peace-loving" Iranians to tell U.S. citizens that they, too, share Americans' "pain and anger" about the tragedy. He noted that some Iranians held candlelit vigils "in a daring, symbolic act that unnerved the clerical regime" to show their support of the American people and declare their condemnation of terrorism.

"The tragic events of Sept. 11 prove to the world what Iranians have experienced firsthand: 22 years of constant terror, evil deeds in the name of religion, broken lives and broken hearts," Pahlavi told his audience, citing the current regime's suppression of fundamental human rights and such ills as the country's high inflation, unemployment and "rampant corruption." The current regime, he added, is "in pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and is the principal antagonist to the Middle East peace process."

Yet, Pahlavi noted, "Every crisis presents its own set of opportunities, and this barbaric act and human tragedy is no different." He went on to say that the United States now has the opportunity to shape the future of Iran by supporting the growing movement for a democratic, secular government in his homeland.

Pahlavi has actively promoted a national referendum in Iran and said he has assembled support in the country for a campaign of nonviolent action and civil disobedience in an effort to free its people from despotic rule. Iranian youth, he said, are particularly active in demanding political change in the country and are leading the "rightful struggle for secularism and popular sovereignty."

Pahlavi stressed that the U.S.-led international coalition's war against terrorism will not be successful so long as Iran remains a "totalitarian" theocracy, and urged the United States to not be fooled by the government's condemnation of terrorism.

"In what has become a clerical trademark, the regime will seek to address its international as well as domestic problems by continuing to court a calculated policy of double-talk aimed at confusing the world into appeasement by systematically sending contradicting messages," stated Pahlavi. "Internationally, for example, the rulers of Iran have aimed to charm the West by calling for the eradication of terrorism. However, indeed, they refuse to prove their financing and support of terror groups and anti-peace process actions.

"Similarly," he continued, "just last Wednesday, the regime's highest-ranking diplomat at the U.N. was sent on an unprecedented lobbying mission to Capitol Hill. Yet immediately at home Iran's supreme leaders called any cooperation with 'The Great Satan' disgusting and challenged the world of Islam not to cooperate with the United States.

"In totality, the clerical regime has little credibility when it comes to international law and principles of diplomacy," contended Pahlavi. "Hence, the world needs to be wary of any promises emanating from Tehran until it delivers in deeds what it gestured in words."

Likewise, the promise of democratic reforms by Iranian president Mohammed Khatami, perceived as a less radical leader than his predecessors, has never been fulfilled, contended Pahlavi.

"Mr. Khatami's regime has yet to miss an opportunity to deliver crushing blows against the slightest hint of alternate opinions and views, even if held by so-called moderate members of his own Parliament," the crown prince stated. "As a result, freedom-demanding Iranians are met by chain-wielding militia mandated to crush, imprison, stone and execute those not in agreement with the principles of theocracy."

Pahlavi said he believes the clerical regime will go to any extreme to resist changes that could challenge the theocracy. However, he said, the rest of the world can play a role in ensuring that the Iranian people's cry for liberty is not silenced.

"In particular, America, this great land of liberty, bears a unique and special responsibility to lead this change by sending a clear and unwavering message of hope and support to the people of Iran that it stands with them and not against them in their quest for freedom and secularism. [The U.S. must] convince its European and Asian allies that the clerical regime in Iran is part of the global problem and that if the international campaign against terrorism is to succeed, appeasement of, and deal-making with, Tehran must come to an end," Pahlavi said.

"Indeed, the world must not sacrifice long-term strategic objectives by entering into short-term compromises with regimes and organizations whose interests have, and will remain, in conflict with peace, stability, regional and global security," he continued.

Saying that he is willing to risk his own life for the sake of freedom in his native country, Pahlavi noted that his own website urging a national referendum and civil disobedience in Iran averages 110,000 visits a day. However, without sufficient support from the global community, Iranian citizens cannot "take on" their repressive government, he said.

"I pronounce to you that the ship of freedom has set sail in my homeland," he told his audience. "The world must care and make the right choice in favoring the wings that will give birth to a long-awaited secular democracy in Iran, and hence, regional stability."

-- By Susan Gonzalez

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