The West’s ‘appeasement’ of Iran has failed and a new Reagan-Thatcher type leadership is needed to confront the regime, exiled crown prince claims

Iran’s exiled crown prince has claimed that the West’s “appeasement” policy has failed and that new Reagan-Thatcher-type leadership is needed.

Reza Pahlavi, the eldest son of the late Shah of Iran, is a prominent critic of the Islamic regime of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Speak with The Telegraph, he said there is a “weak approach” by leaders in the West on “both sides of the Atlantic” towards the Islamic Republic.

He told the newspaper that there must be a reset of Europe’s relationship with Tehran, calling for the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to be labeled a terrorist organization.

The 63-year-old also slammed British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for not doing enough to protect Iranian journalists in London.

The prince referred to the stabbing of Iranian television presenter Pouria Zeraati in Wimbledon last month.

Zeraati has been repeatedly targeted by Tehran as the media organization is openly critical of the government’s regime.

Counter-terrorism police are investigating an attack on the prominent Iranian dissident journalist, who said he was targeted by a two-man team that escaped in a waiting car.

It is believed that agents working directly for the Iranian government, or a criminal gang hired by Tehran, targeted Zeraati, who hosts a high-profile TV show in London.

Speaking to The Telegraph, the prince asked what the benefit is if he is not ‘prepared to respond in some form’.

He even went so far as to say that the “root cause” of Iranian influence in the Middle East was the West’s “appeasement police.”

This week, Rishi Sunak called for ‘calm heads’ after Israel launched attacks on Iran in retaliation for the unprecedented drone-and-missile blitz in Tehran.

The prime minister emphasized that Israel “absolutely has the right to self-defense,” while emphasizing that the facts of the overnight action have still not been established.

But he said the priority must be to defuse tensions in the region, amid fears the Middle East could be plunged into a much wider conflict.

However, the exiled prince claimed that stronger leadership is needed, similar to that of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher at the end of the Cold War. He added that this partnership “has changed the world in a very significant way.”

The prince left Iran in 1977, when he was 17 years old, to undergo air force training in the United States.

Two years later, his father, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, was deposed during the Islamic Revolution.

The royal family has been in exile since then, but after the death of his father in 1980, the prince declared himself the new Shah of Iran in exile.

Although never formally appointed, he is an important figurehead for opposition figures and Iranians in exile.

He became frustrated when asked by The Telegraph about the ongoing diplomatic efforts with Tehran, saying: ‘This is basically a flop. Diplomacy has failed. Reconciliation has failed. Any continuation of this is, quite frankly, madness.”

He added that US President Biden’s inability to enforce sanctions has caused Tehran’s revenues to rise.

President Joe Biden’s administration previously announced new sanctions on Iran targeting its production of unarmed aircraft following the missile and drone attack on Israel last weekend.

“Let it be clear to anyone who enables or supports Iran’s attacks: the United States is committed to Israel’s security. We are committed to the safety of our staff and partners in the region. And we will not hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to hold you accountable,” Biden said in a statement.

His announcement came after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country reserved the right to protect and would decide how best to do so. Biden has made it clear that the US does not support an Israeli attack on Iran.

Despite living in exile, the prince said he was optimistic that the end is near for Tehran’s rulers.

He said the recent suppression of peaceful protests sparked by the death two years ago of Mahsa Amini, a young woman detained for not wearing her headscarf correctly, is a sign of “weakness and insecurity.”

Ms Amini, 22, fell into a coma after being arrested in Tehran and died while being held by police in hospital.

Other women showed their anger at the news on social media by posting other examples of a crackdown by the vice squad on women without headscarves.

Islamic Republic officials told local media that Amini suffered a heart attack while being held by vice squad, and denied reports that she had been beaten.

“They killed my angel,” her mother told the BBC’s Persian service. She said her daughter was healthy and without any problems.

Exiled Prince Pahlavi said Iran’s Gen Z offers hope for change in the future because they are “not closed off from the world” and are on Instagram and X.

He told The Telegraph: ‘They say: why shouldn’t I have the same opportunities that a young girl or a young boy has today in Doha or in Abu Dhabi or in Dubai?’

“And they’re talking about this, they’re expressing their ideas, the fact of how united they are as a nation.”

He said it “gives me hope, which gives me energy.”