Exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi urges mass protests during upcoming Persian festival of fire

Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who lives in exile in the United States, urged the Iranian public on Sunday to organize mass protests against the Islamist ayatollah regime during the Persian holiday of Charshanbeh Suri. 

"My compatriots," Pahlavi began his video message on 𝕏. "On the eve of Charshanbeh Suri, the anti-Iranian regime of the Islamic Republic is once again attempting to prevent this ancient national ritual. But this year, we will mark Charshanbeh Suri with solemn national pride in memory of the brave souls who have sacrificed their lives to reclaim Iran and our national identity."

The ancient holiday Charshanbeh Suri is of pre-Islamic Zoroastrian origin and celebrates renewal and the annual transition from winter to spring with bonfires. It is the first holiday of the Iranian new year, known in Persian as Nowruz. Due to its pre-Islamic origin, the holiday has become a popular event among Iranians to articulate their opposition to the oppressive Islamist ayatollah regime. While Iran is formally an Islamist Republic, only a minority of Iranians regularly attend services at mosques. 

The exiled prince urged the Iranian diaspora worldwide to gather outside Iranian embassies and "shout with one voice: the Iranian nation will not rest until Iran is liberated and the Islamic Republic is consigned to history."

Pahlavi also called on U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "closely monitor" developments inside Iran during the Charshanbeh Suri holiday and prevent the ayatollah regime from using violence against Iranian protesters. It has been assessed that the ayatollah regime killed over 30,000 Iranian protesters during a violent crackdown in January. 

"Our message is clear," Pahlavi continued. "Our fire, the symbol of Iran’s light and purity, will triumph over the darkness of this un-Iranian regime and cleanse the soil of our homeland from its criminal occupiers."

For years, Pahlavi has called for military intervention against the ayatollah regime. In a Washington Post op-ed published earlier this month, the exiled crown prince thanked the United States and Israel for striking the Islamist republic. 

“For nearly half a century, the Islamic Republic has not behaved as a state among states. Instead, it has operated as an expansionist revolutionary enterprise, subverting neighbors’ sovereignty, fueling conflicts around the world, and pursuing nuclear weapons and the long-range missiles to deliver them,” Pahlavi warned.

The Israeli Air Force eliminated the ayatollah regime’s leader, Ali Khamenei, and dozens of top Iranian officials in the opening strike on Feb. 28. 

Pahlavi has vowed to transform a free Iran into an ally of the U.S. and re-establish its historic ties with the Jewish nation. 

“A free Iran would extend that breakthrough by immediately recognizing Israel and pursuing a broader regional peace framework linking Iran, Israel and our Arab neighbors in cooperation rather than conflict,” Pahlavi stated. 

Praising the American-brokered Abraham Accords between Israel and the Arab world, Pahlavi called for a peaceful Cyrus Accords between Iran and Israel. 

“I suggest calling the agreement the Cyrus Accords, for Cyrus the Great, the benevolent ancient Persian ruler whom Thomas Jefferson cited as an inspiration. Such an agreement would replace the regime’s ideology of hostility with a foundation for peace."