” The signatories emphasized that “the foundation of tyranny in Iran was laid over the past 100 years by his grandfather, Reza Shah Pahlavi, who led a coup against the 1909 Constitutional Revolution. His father, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, then staged a coup against national Prime Minister Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh in 1953.”
The statement added: “Ethnic and racial oppression flourished during the reign of his grandfather, which the Pahlavi family passed on to the Islamic Republic. Chauvinistic rhetoric targeting non-Persian peoples was prominent under both Pahlavi regimes and continued under the Islamic Republic. Reza Pahlavi has never criticized the actions of his grandfather and father in this regard and fundamentally does not believe in the basic rights of the oppressed nations in Iran.”
Among the signatories are doctors, writers, researchers, human rights activists, as well as political leaders and activists from various nations within Iran.
The full text of the statement reads:
“Mr. Reza Pahlavi, Know Your Limits: The Protected Domains of Iran Have Their Owners
Amid discussions of potential external attacks on Iran, Mr. Reza Pahlavi, son of the deposed Shah, released a message in English, accompanied by an Arabic translation, in which he sought to exploit the crisis facing the authoritarian regime of the Islamic Republic to gain support from regional countries—particularly Arab states—in order to ascend to power in Iran. In his message, he expressed dissatisfaction with the regime in Tehran’s use of ‘Iranian nationalism’ during recent confrontations, criticized the regime’s ‘chauvinism,’ spoke of transitioning to democracy, and promised to prevent chaos should the regime collapse.
The peoples of Iran—especially the non-Persian ones—are well aware that the foundation of tyranny in this country was laid by his grandfather, Reza Shah Pahlavi, who staged a coup against the 1909 Constitutional Revolution. His father, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, followed by staging a coup against national Prime Minister Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh in 1953. Ethnic and racial oppression flourished under his grandfather’s reign and was passed down by the Pahlavi family to the Islamic Republic, with chauvinistic rhetoric targeting non-Persian peoples continuing under both Pahlavi regimes and the Islamic Republic. Reza Pahlavi has never criticized the actions of his grandfather and father in this regard, and fundamentally, he does not believe in the rights of the oppressed nations in Iran.
There is no need to recount in detail the political and cultural oppression or the massacres committed by both Pahlavi shahs against the Arabs, Turks, Kurds, Baluchs, Lors, and Turkmen. The essence of Reza Pahlavi’s recent speech was his call to prevent chaos following the collapse of the Islamic Republic. This means his only concern is preserving the nation-state built on a single language, a single nation, and a single race, which has been the main cause of centralized, iron-fisted rule, tyranny, and the violation of the national and historical rights of the nations in Iran.
Reza Pahlavi hopes to accomplish what his ancestors could not by reaching an agreement with parts of the military establishment in Iran. However, he must understand that with his current views, he cannot restore his father’s authoritarian rule without the bloodshed of thousands of Arabs, Turks, Kurds, Turkmen, Baluchs, Lors, Gilaks, Talyshis, and Mazandaranis. The lands of the former Protected Domains belong to the nations currently living in Iran, and he has no rights over them. Reza Pahlavi is not even elected by the Persian people, nor is he popular among republicans and democrats in Iran.
We, the undersigned, call upon the non-Persian peoples to prepare for the zero hour and the day of the overthrow of the Islamic Republic regime, to ensure that they do not once again fall under the domination of the Persian nation-state.”
Signed by:
Dr. Behzad Aghdamli, Specialist Doctor and Political/Human Rights Activist – Azerbaijan, Iran
Nouri Al Hamza, Iranian and Middle East Affairs Analyst – Ahwazi
Jamal Al Ahwazi, Member of Ahwazi Human Rights Organization
Mahmoud Ahmed Al Ahwazi, Ahwazi Democratic Front
Ferdous Mahmoud Ahmed; Ahwazi political activist
Awatif Al-Asadi; cultural, political, and human rights activist – Ahwazi Gathering
Haifa Sara Asadi; human rights activist – Ahwazi
Dr. Hassan Afraz; Turkish Azerbaijani political activist
Jamshid Amiri; United Front of Balochistan – Iran
Babak Bakhtawar; independent political activist in the Azerbaijani national movement
Habibullah Balochi; leadership cadre in the Balochistan Raji Tappaki Party
Karim Balochi; civil and political activist – Balochistan
Mahim Balochi (Sarkhosh); Secretary General of the Balochistan Raji Tappaki Party
Oguz Bahador; head of the youth branch of the National Resistance Organizations of Azerbaijan
Rosa Thabet; journalist and women’s and human rights activist – Ahwazi
Issa Turkoglu; head of the Azar Turk (Atay) Association in Britain
Ismail Javadi; central council member of the National Resistance Organization of Azerbaijan
Majid Javadi; spokesperson for the National Resistance Organization of Azerbaijan
Yousef Al-Khaqani; Arab political activist – Ahwaz Assembly
Engineer Mohammad Reza Kheshti; Turkish Azerbaijani civil activist
Karim Dahimi; Arab human rights activist – Ahwazi
Dr. Ahmed Al-Zahrani; political activist – Ahwazi Assembly
Younes Shamli; journalist – Azerbaijani Democratic Party
Omar Al-Sharifi; Ahwazi political activist
Yousef Al-Sharifi; Arab political activist – Ahwazi Assembly
Mousa Shanan; Arab political activist
Dr. Simin Sabri; psychiatrist and spokesperson for the Azerbaijani Democratic Party
Hadi Sofi Zadeh; Kurdish political activist
Dr. Zia Sadr Al-Eshrafi; Azerbaijani researcher and political activist
Amir Al-Abadi; Arab political activist – Ahwazi
Ahmed Al-Abbasi; writer and translator – Ahwazi
Saeed Azizi; representative of the National Resistance Organization of Azerbaijan in Europe
Souheila Azizi; member of the women’s branch of the National Resistance Organization of Azerbaijan
Yousef Azizi (Benitorof); writer and researcher – Ahwazi Assembly
Salima Fetoohi; author and former teacher in Ahwaz and Tehran high schools
Habib Qasim; cultural and human rights activist from Ahwaz
Saleh Kamarani; lawyer and Secretary General of the Azerbaijani Centrist Party
Talib Al-Murmadhi; member of the Arab Struggle Movement in Ahwaz
Yousef Kor; Turkmen political and cultural activist
Hamed Al-Kanani; researcher and writer – Ahwazi
Mojtaba Najafi; Turkish Azerbaijani national activist
Mahdi Al-Hashemi; Ahwazi political activist
Ensaf Ali Hedayat; Turkish researcher and theorist
Dr. Mohammad Hussein Yahyaei; economist and one of the leaders of the Azerbaijani Democratic Party
Hadi Younesi; journalist and human rights activist from Ahwaz, and member of Amnesty International, Germany branch
