Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran, spoke with Arutz Sheva - Israel National News at the IAC summit in Washington about the need for the world to differentiate between the Iranian people and the Iranian regime.
"The paradigm has to shift, and I think some key governments - including the United States - have to understand that while the regime remains a hostile enemy, they have a partner in the Iranian people," he said. "The Iranian people will seek friendship and cordial relationships with our neighborhood. The relationship between Iran and the Jews is biblical - it was Cyrus who freed the Jewish slaves in Babylon and helped them rebuild their Temple in Jerusalem. Iran gave asylum to Jews fleeing Hitler. It is embedded in our sense of natural identity we celebrate our diversity of ethnicity of religious groups, from Christians to Zoroastrians to Jews, as opposed to the regime that is categorically against all that's different."
Regarding the current conflict, Reza noted that the people could be the solution the world has been looking for. "The best army in place are the people of Iran themselves. All they need in is the extra support so they can better organize their strikes, their demonstrations, and and be able to rely on the kind of support that we witnessed towards the end of the Cold War. Iranians have been calling for a long time for support from the outside world, particularly the Western world. The best response is not to fight the war - Iranians are ready to fight, but they cannot do it alone."
Reza insists that there is no need for outside attacks on Iran: "I cannot as a patriot as a nationalist accept any kind of military intervention against my country. I think there's a much better solution - this regime is scared of the people themselves. That's why they're cracking down on people, that's why they're shooting our kids, but if they saw that Iranians are actually being backed and supported by the outside world, then they will think twice."
Reza called for other world leaders to go beyond words: "In the past 100 years we witnessed the free world prevailing in some major conflicts. The first time was WWII, the second was in the Cold War. You had strong leaders then, and we need strong leaders now, and all will have to do their part."