Iran’s UK Envoy Slams Pahlavi’s ‘Hasty’ Remarks against Iran
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Iranian ambassador to the UK dismissed “hasty” remarks by Reza Pahlavi, the son of the deposed Shah of Iran, against the Islamic Republic following the recent protests in the country, urging him to mind his own business and address his family problems instead.
Reza Pahlavi made the remarks against the Islamic Republic and attempted to hype up the recent unrest in Iran as he has no “proper understanding” of Iran’s developments, Hamid Baeidinejad said on Monday.
His comments came after Pahlavi, in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, called on US President Donald Trump’s administration to encourage US technology companies to provide communication services to Iranians to protest the Islamic Republic amid protests in some Iranian cities against high prices.
Pahlavi, who has lived in exile since his father Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, said he wants to see Iranians “determine their own fate out of their own free will.”
He lauded Trump and members of his cabinet for speaking in support of the protests.
Baeidinejad, referring to the suicides of Reza Pahlavi’s sister and brother in 2002 and 2011 respectively, further called on him to stop meddling in Iran’s affairs and instead try to a help his family members to address their mental problems and the family’s current “deep crisis”.
Taking a similar stance against Pahlavi’s remarks, Brazil's best-selling novelist Paulo Coelho also criticized his comments against Iran, saying, “Shut up. SAVAK is dead, and the Iranian people will rally to support their country if you ever ask for another coup d'etat like the one orchestrated by CIA in 1953".
Last week, peaceful protests over rising prices and economic problems broke out in some Iranian cities, but the unauthorized gatherings turned violent after a number of opportunists, some of them armed, vandalized public property and launched attacks on police stations and government buildings.
Siding with the rioters were a number of US officials, including Trump.
Iranian security officials say they have hard evidence that the protests were directed from abroad.
Officials say many rioters arrested in the unrest have been trained by the terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) or had links with the Takfiri groups.
Following the unrest, people held several demonstrations across the country to condemn the violent riots and acts of vandalism, and voice support for the Islamic Republic’s Establishment.
Iranian officials maintain that people have the right to stage protests to express their opinions, as long as rallies comply with the legal conditions.
