While reports indicate Tehran is receiving $300 billion and sweeping sanctions relief under a memorandum of understanding with the U.S., Iran’s opposition is calling it a betrayal of values and human rights. “The money won’t reach the people—it will strengthen Hezbollah and Hamas,” said Pahlavi.
The peace deal signed by President Donald Trump in Versailles last weekend is sparking international uproar, but especially among Iran’s opposition. Reza Pahlavi, son of Iran’s last Shah and the most prominent figure in the resistance to the regime, told the Daily Mail the agreement is “shameful” and claimed the fate of the Iranian people has been completely erased from the agenda of the world powers.
2+Under the terms of the memorandum of understanding, Iran will receive $300 billion in compensation and significant sanctions relief in exchange for removing enriched uranium and committing to halt nuclear weapons development. For Pahlavi, this amounts to rewarding a regime that brutally crushed massive protests last January, during which an estimated 40,000 demonstrators were killed.
“These Are Not Rational People”
“They didn’t die for a nuclear deal or for the Strait of Hormuz,” Pahlavi said in the London interview. He argued the money flowing to Tehran won’t improve citizens’ lives but will instead be used to strengthen the Islamic Republic’s regional terror arms, including Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis. Pahlavi sharply criticized Trump’s statements that it’s “okay” for Tehran to have ballistic missiles, warning that the regime is a “beast” with no commitment to its own citizens.
2+Meanwhile, Tehran is trying to project victory. ‘Supreme Leader’ Khamenei declared the deal doesn’t represent acceptance of the “enemy’s” position but rather the result of American “despair,” while President Pezeshkian claimed it reflects “the voice of a people who did not trade their dignity.”
As you may recall, after Operation Roaring Lion, Crown Prince Pahlavi gave an interview responding to the ceasefire with the ayatollah regime. At the time, he sought to encourage citizens: “The United States and Israel have disappointed many of you. But this is not a time for despair—this is a time for even greater faith in victory.”
2+Pahlavi listed the “unprecedented” achievements of the campaign and laid out their impact on the regime: “Today the Islamic Republic stands more isolated and condemned than ever, in the region and in the world.”
The exiled crown prince called on citizens to wait patiently for the “decisive moment,” emphasizing that the regime’s overthrow will only be accomplished by the people themselves: “We must deliver the final blow to the weakened regime and bring it to an end.”