Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi is of the best-known Iranian personalities, standing in sharp distinction to the Islamic Republic’s bellicose president and ayatollah. Crown Prince Reza is son of the late Shah of Iran and has lived in the United States since the revolution in 1979. He’s known as an advocate of the principles of freedom, democracy and human rights.
The Media Line’s Felice Friedson first met the Crown Prince when they shared the podium for a session on the Middle East at the Blouin Global Creative Leadership Summit.
TML: The Iranian government says it has as much right as any other regime to have nuclear power — even nuclear weapons. How should the international community be responding to that statement?
PAHLAVI: The matter is quite complex, but let’s go back to the period before the revolution. At the time, Iran was a country that had already embarked on the pursuit of nuclear energy. Having signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, we had gained the ownership of ten percent of shares in a company called Eurodif, which was going to supply Iran with the rod to fuel our two initial nuclear reactors that had started construction — my point being that at the time, nobody questioned the sovereign right of the Iranian nation to have access to nuclear technology. What has changed is that since the revolution, we have had for 30 years and counting, a regime that has been at the top of th… >>>
