Iran’s crown prince Reza Pahlavi, a prominent opposition figure, has criticized the Islamic regime for its failure to defend the country’s territorial integrity.
In an interview with Kayhan London on Friday, Pahlavi denounced the response to Russia’s recent support for the United Arab Emirates’ claim to three Persian Gulf Iranian islands.
Last week, Russia backed UAE sovereignty over the islands of Abu Musa, the Greater Tunb, and the Lesser Tunb, leading to diplomatic tensions with Iran.
“Russia’s support for the unfounded claims of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council member states regarding the three Iranian islands … demonstrates how the Islamic Republic has betrayed Iran’s wealth, land, and territorial integrity through its foolish and treacherous policies,” Pahlavi stated.
Additionally, the Iranian prince condemned the use of force against veterans of the Iran-Iraq war, who had gathered outside the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs in Tehran to protest against the challenges they face amid a 100% increase in food prices and inadequate pensions.
“Like other institutions and organizations controlled by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, the Martyrs and Veterans Affairs Foundation is a highly corrupt and opaque entity that the regime exploits to plunder the Iranian people and repress them,” Pahlavi added.
He also criticized the regime’s decision to allow members of Iraq’s Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi militias and other proxies of the Islamic Republic to study at Iranian universities.
“Iraqi militia forces are being permitted to enter Tehran University so that, when necessary, these non-Iranian mercenaries can suppress Iranian protests,” the exiled prince alleged.