Iran’s crown prince says Israel is ‘our natural friend and ally’

When ayatollahs fall, the “biblical relationship” between Iranians and Israelis will be renewed, the crown prince says. 

By World Israel News Staff

Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi of Iran, whose father the Shah was overthrown in the 1979 revolution that brought Ayatollah Khomeini to power, says that President Joe Biden is wrong in his approach to Tehran and when the opportunity arrives, the crown prince would love to come and visit Israel, Israel Hayom reported Sunday.

In an exclusive interview with the newspaper, Pahlavi, who would likely have been in power today if the Islamic revolution had not succeeded, said he follows American politics and diplomacy closely regarding his home country.

“I have always judged every American administration, every foreign administration for that matter, in the same way and with one and the same question – will they stand by the Iranian people,” Pahlavi said.

The regent thinks the Biden administration approach to Iran is all wrong.

“They said they would return to the nuclear deal while their sworn enemy was quick to increase the rate of uranium enrichment by five times,” Pahlavi said, adding the ayatollahs did so when they knew that Biden had already pledged to return to the agreement.

“This is blackmail of the free world,” he said, adding the nuclear deal itself was “based on a misconception of behavior change” that Western powers have mistakenly pursued for four decades.

“It will not happen. The Iranians know that the regime is not led by its national interests, but by its corrupt and criminal interests. That is why in my talks with foreign leaders I explain to them that the only real solution is to support the need of the Iranian people,” Pahlavi said, noting that the nuclear deal was “good for the Islamic Republic and bad for the West and Middle Eastern countries.”

“The cash transfers through the nuclear deal have helped the [Iranian] Revolutionary Guards upgrade their terror system and undermine the security of dozens of countries. I doubt Iran is months away from nuclear weapons. On the other hand, they do not need it at all because they have the ability to wreak havoc in the region,” he said.

Pahlavi said he supported the American-brokered Abraham Accords that led to peace between Israel and four Arab countries, calling it an “alliance for progress,” but said his goal is to see “Iran freed from the darkness.”

As for Israel, which had full diplomatic relations under his father the Shah, Pahlavi emphasized that “the Iranian people are full of a desire for peace with Israel, as with all the countries in the region and in general that respect our sovereignty.”

However, he said that while he longed to return to his country, he did not seek to rule.

“I am not looking for strength for myself, but I am interested in being a voice for my people and supporting them,” Pahlavi said. “My goal is to liberate the country and establish a secular democracy based on the will of the people.”

He expects that when that happens, Iran and Israel will have normal relations.

“The biblical relationship between Iran and the Jewish people is deeply engraved in our culture and history, and will be renewed once the regime falls,” he said. “I would love to visit Israel and meet its citizens.”

Pahlavi wants to meet the Iranian Jews who now make their home in Israel, who he knows are proud of their heritage and preserve their culture.

“They maintain a better way of life than is possible under the Islamic Republic, which dislikes our history and heritage,” adding that he thinks “Israel can help Iran in the high-tech and environmental fields. The Israeli knowledge about water can help my country.”

“The Islamic regime, from the beginning, celebrated death. On the other hand, raising my favorite toast to raising a glass is the Jewish ‘L’chaim’. We Iranians, as a civilization, prefer to celebrate life rather than death. Those who think like us, like the citizens of Israel, are our natural friends and allies.”