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On VOA Pahlavi Speaks of a National Movement to Free Iran from Poverty Backwardness and Crisis Transcript by: Ramin Parham
Kangarloo asked for Pahlavi's opinion on the objectives pursued by Ahmadinejad during his visit to the UN. In response Pahlavi brought the attention of his host and the audience to the facts that the empty seats of the world delegates at the UN during Ahmadinejad's speech spoke for itself about the degree of disregard that the world community's leaders accorded to the Islamic president and the official views of the regime he exposed. Furthermore he said, one should not forget that Ahmadinejad comes from a country, Iran, that, prior to the Islamic revolution, played a major role in the drafting of the Universal Charter of Human Rights and the advancement of Women issues through its then young representative, Fereydoon Hoveyda. It is with deep regret, Pahlavi said, that we now witness our country being pointed out at for matters of disrespects for Human Rights, terrorism and nuclear proliferation. Kangarloo then asked his guest about the potential impacts of Ahmadinejad's UN visit on the future of Iran-US relations. "If by this, you mean any improvement in the relations, I think the answer is no", said Pahlavi before adding that no improvement in relations, be it with the US or with other major countries of the world, could be expected so long as this regime is in power. Pahlavi explained that the reason for this ought to be sought in the fact that the Islamic regime is inherently and since its inception at odds with the free and open world and that the regime's myriad of international and regional crises should be understood in this perspective. "The biggest threat facing the Islamic republic is precisely an opening to the free and open world", he said. The VOA host then turned to the nuclear issue asking his guest whether he agreed with the fact that civilian nuclear energy would be beneficial for Iran or not. In response, Pahlavi based his argument on the contrast between the commencement of the nuclear project in pre-revolutionary Iran and its present dire state. "Back then, he said, major governments, backed by their respective private sectors in the US, France, and Germany, were competing with each other in order to provide Iran with nuclear technology at the lowest price." What has changed in the meantime, Pahlavi asked, for the situation to become so awry that the country now finds itself in the middle of a major international crisis. "It is not Iran's right to such technology that has changed but the nature of its political regime". "If back then there was question of responsibility in power, what we are seeing now is a regime that is a prime supporter of terrorism and is seen as a premier generator of international and regional crises. They see nuclear weapons as their last chance for survival", Pahlavi added before saying that the Islamic regime sees this as a security issue in the perspective of a looming clash with the free world. Kangarloo then pointed to the upcoming IAEA summit in Vienna, on Monday Sept. 19, where the world body will review the Iranian case and sought the opinion of his guest on the potential outcomes of that gathering. "Regarding the fact that there is an atmosphere of distrust surrounding the Islamic regime and based on their latest declarations that they intend to share their nuclear know-how with other Islamic states, in complete disregard with Iran's international commitments, there is a series of efforts aimed at finding a solution to the pending crisis", Pahlavi said. Americans, he added, have come closer to the European positions while Russian and Chinese opinions will also matter in this issue. "So far as I can see, there is an important ongoing effort in order to find a [multilateral] solution to the crisis." Turning to Iran's internal crisis, Kangarloo then inquired Pahlavi's thoughts on the "composition of the [new] Ahmadinejad cabinet". Pahlavi tackled the question under a sociological angle by saying that, "to perdure, the system as we know it in Iran, has no choice other than creating a security atmosphere and a Taleban-like society. But they will not succeed in doing this because that will confront them with the middle class." In previous years, he said, "they confronted the so-called reform movement, which was trying to ease the pressure", and now "they face a looming confrontation with the private sector". The society will reject this Pahlavi emphasized before saying that, "the real issue will be whether the regime will succeed in bringing such a fundamental change into the fabric of the society, a sine qua non condition for their own survival as a religious system, and whether society as a whole will accept to submit to such a forced change". The regime will fail, predicted Iran's Crown Prince. As his last question, Kangarloo turned to Pahlavi's own political program asking for his current agenda. "Our main objective has always been that the people of Iran must regain their sovereignty as they alone should ultimately be in charge of building their own future", said Pahlavi before reminding his political principles of "non-violence, civil disobedience, relying on the people of Iran without any intervention by foreign forces while working towards the largest possible participation of all political parties in this scenario which at the end should allow for the people of Iran to choose their own destiny". Pahlavi concluded his remarks by saying that, "the only way to salvage Iran is through a national movement which would transcend political boundaries and ideologies so that, prior to anything else, we can save our people from the disastrous current situation, poverty, unemployment, and depression that we see today. My first imperative is to achieve this so we can bring Iran back on the path of progress knowing that its primary condition is freedom." Photography by Spenta Mazda iranian.com |
While,
on the 60th anniversary of its foundation on the aftermath of WWII
and on the ruins of the ineffectual and defunct Society of Nations,
the United Nation Organization is wrapping up its annual World General
Assembly, which saw during its three-day summit leaders and delegations
from 173 countries, Reza Pahlavi of Iran was the guest of Anushirvan
Kangarloo, prime-time anchor of Voice of America Persian language
section. In the ten-minute interview, Kangarloo questioned the Heir
of the Peacock Throne on issues ranging from the impact of the Islamic
President's visit to the UN on world leaders and on the future of
Iran's relations with the US; Iran's impending nuclear showdown with
the world; the composition of the new government in Tehran and the
difficulties facing it; and to the way Pahlavi foresees the future
of the political dead-end in his country. What follows is a summary
transcript by Iran Shahr of the VOA webcast.