Reza Pahlavi accepts invitation to visit Australia — ABC News Australia
In Australia, Iran’s former crown prince Reza Pahlavi has accepted an invitation from the Coalition to visit the country. The date of the visit has not yet been determined. Pahlavi said he hopes to come soon and does not seek to lead Iran in the long term.
This was reported by ABC News Australia. Before the announcement, Pahlavi took part in a virtual meeting with 10 Coalition members of parliament and senators, including Opposition Leader Angus Taylor and Shadow Foreign Minister Ted O’Brien.
Transitional leadership
In an interview with Radio National Breakfast, Pahlavi said that if the current regime falls, he is ready to serve as a transitional leader and offer a roadmap for the process. He stressed that he does not see himself as a candidate for the country’s long-term leadership, but wants to be a “bridge” to a democratic system.
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Pahlavi left Iran in 1978 to go to the United States for pilot training, shortly before the 1979 Islamic Revolution that ended the rule of his father, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. He called Iran’s current rulers a “corrupt, mafia dictatorship” and said that power in the country is controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The Coalition’s position
Ted O’Brien said the invitation to Pahlavi was sent after a significant number of appeals from Australia’s Iranian community. At the same time, Macquarie University security studies researcher Kylie Moore-Gilbert cautioned against viewing Pahlavi as the leader of the entire Iranian opposition. According to her, there are many opposition voices in Iran that should be engaged with.
O’Brien denied that the Coalition’s meeting with Pahlavi meant an endorsement of him and said Coalition representatives had also been in contact with other Iranian opposition groups. He stressed the need to communicate with all forces that have a positive vision for a free Iran.
