Protesters in solidarity with Iranian dissidents in their thousands in Westminster on Sunday (Image: Elliott Franks)[Missing Credit]
Reflecting on the protests in Iran – which have turned bloody as thousands of unarmed people have been killed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) since the uprising began last month – Pahlavi urged those calling for change not to give up.
Outlining his vision for a future in which the rule of the ayatollah, Ali Khamenei, has been overturned, he said: "The state of Israel will be recognised immediately. We will pursue the expansion of the Abraham Accords into the Cyrus Accords [an agreement between a post-Islamic Republic regime and Israel], bringing together a free Iran, Israel and the Arab world.
"A new chapter will begin, grounded in mutual recognition, sovereignty and national interest,” he vowed.
Signed in 2020 and brokered by the first Trump administration, the Abraham Accords is a set of agreements that established full diplomatic relations between Israel and several Arab states, breaking decades of hostility.
Reform UK Deputy Leader Richard Tice speaking at Sunday's Iranian dissident protest (Image: Elliott Franks)[Missing Credit]
Pahlavi, who lives in the US, also spoke about the way in which Iran is viewed by the wider world while it is under the draconian rule of the Islamic Republic, arguing this is not the “real Iran”.
He said: "[You see Iran] in your minds as terrorism, extremism and poverty. The real Iran is a different Iran – beautiful, peace-loving and flourishing. It is the Iran that existed before the Islamic Republic, and it is the Iran that will rise again from its ashes the day the Islamic Republic falls."
He also detailed how he imagined “a free Iran will act to its neighbours" if the regime falls.
"In security and foreign policy, Iran's nuclear military programme will end. Support for terrorist groups will cease immediately. A free Iran will work with regional and global partners to confront terrorism, organised crime, drug trafficking and extremist Islamism,” he said.
"Iran will act as a friend and a stabilising force in the region, and it will be a responsible partner in global security and in diplomacy. Relationships with the US will be normalised and our friendship with her people will be restored."
Speaking to the JC at the demonstration, Tice poured scorn on the UK Government’s refusal to proscribe the IRGC.
Protesters crying at Iranian dissident protest on Sunday as the names of the dead are read out[Missing Credit]
"It is the cowardice of officials at the Foreign Office bullying the ministers who haven't got the courage to say, 'Thank you for the advice but I'm going to decide to do something else'. That is what real leadership is about. That is what political courage is about," he said.
"[Reform UK] has said on numerous occasions in Parliament and outside Parliament that we will proscribe [the IRGC]...They are [a] terrorist organisation.”
Middle East analyst and commentator Catherine Perez-Shakdam echoed Tice, claiming Labour’s refusal to ban the IRGC amounted to "cowardice".
"I would suggest the politicians do the right thing for humanity and proscribe, proscribe, proscribe," she said.
