Exclusive interview: The exiled Crown Prince of Iran
Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the former Shah of Iran, is fast emerging as a potentially pivotal figure in Middle Eastern politics. As the only major Iranian opposition leader to openly advocate for a pro-West and pro-Israel position, Pahlavi's vision for a post-theocratic Iran is not just a matter of internal reform, but a potential sea change for regional stability and global security.
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This was underscored by his high-profile visit in April 2023 to Israel, where he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and by his adopting of the Cyrus Accords, which seek to revive the ancient Persian-Judean tradition of peaceful cooperation.
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Pahlavi's willingness to restore ties with Israel, bring Israeli technology to address Iran's water crisis, and re-establish economic partnerships reminiscent of the Shah's era, would signal a dramatic break from the Islamic Republic's longstanding hostility toward the Jewish state.
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Pahlavi calls for a coordinated campaign to dismantle the Iranian regime and foster a secular democracy in Iran. He insists that any negotiations with Tehran merely buy time for the regime, and he urges the West — particularly the United States — to support the Iranian people through sustained economic and diplomatic pressure, not appeasement.
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He says he envisions himself not as a returning monarch, but as a transitional leader who would ensure law and order, and oversee a referendum to let Iranians determine their future.
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For Canadians and the wider West, Pahlavi's rise matters. A democratic Iran, aligned with the West, could reshape the region's security architecture, curb extremism, and unlock new economic opportunities.
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This week, Pahlavi returned to Toronto in the first talk coordinated by a Jewish Canadian organization, Tafsik. Dave Gordon interviews the Crown Prince, in this exclusive Canadian interview.
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We have to bring as much coordination, in a strategy of maximum pressure on the (regime), and combine it with maximum support for the Iranian people. It's really diplomatic efforts at the international level. Invite the G20 countries to be more in line with the aspiration of the people of Iran, and consider that their best course of action would be to be supportive of that change, as opposed to a politics of containment, or, if you will, appeasement, which has failed all this time.
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Iran should be a South Korea, not a North Korea, with a national government that cares for its people, as opposed to using our national resources to finance its ideological exportation across the world at the expense of the Iranian people.
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