REZA PAHLAVI
IRAN IS BEING CONVULSED BY ITS WORST unrest in 40 years, with cities across the country paralyzed by thousands of anti-government protesters.
Though sparked by a spike in fuel prices, the explosion of anger has been a long time coming. Iranians are living under an authoritarian regime while battling falling living standards and a faltering economy, exacerbated by crippling American sanctions levied to stifle Tehran’s nuclear program and regional influence.
Hundreds—perhaps thousands—of dissenters have been cut down in the streets by regime gunmen. Authorities hide away the bodies of the dead to hide the true death toll while throttling the internet to prevent survivors communicating with each other and the world.
According to Reza Pahlavi—the last surviving son and heir of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, deposed in the Iranian Revolution—the “massacre” shows the desperation and ruthlessness of the regime.
Pahlavi spoke to from Washington, D.C., where he still lives in
