Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi seeks strong India ties in free Iran

Washington, Jan 17 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA):– Iran’s exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi on Friday said a future democratic Iran would seek close and cooperative relations with India, citing long-standing cultural, civilizational, and historical ties between the two countries.

Pahlavi at a crowded news conference here recalled that relations between India and Iran “go a long time” and said the connection extended well beyond modern diplomacy. “Culturally, it was many, many years,” he said, adding that Iran and India had enjoyed good relations in modern history as well.

He said a democratic Iran would be committed to building partnerships based on shared values. “It’s natural, as I said, that a democratic Iran is committed to having the best possible relationship in the context of sovereignty and liberty to have the best possible relationship with any country that adheres to the same values and can work with us and can partner with us in many different domains,” he said.

Pahlavi praised India’s civilizational heritage and said both countries could take pride in their histories. “It’s a rich culture and the rich history that we observe in India as well,” he said. “I think we can, as nations, be very proud of our heritage, and this could be a natural path to a very good bond and cooperation.”

He argued that global challenges required deeper international collaboration and said India would be an important partner in addressing them. “We have so many challenges to face on our planet. We have issues of energy, and we have issues of population. We have issues of energy shortages. We have water crisis,” he said.

Pahlavi said such challenges could not be addressed in isolation. “The four corners of this world have to remain connected. We cannot be introverted, we cannot be isolationists. We need to be able to work together,” he said.

Highlighting India’s technological strengths, he said, “India is one of the leading countries when it comes to technology, when it comes to expertise. I think these are the kind of things that will help us in every area that we need to focus on.”

He said cooperation could extend to new and renewable energy and other emerging sectors, adding that he looked forward to closer engagement between experts, entrepreneurs and business communities in both countries. “I’m looking forward to have our experts, our entrepreneurs, our business sector, and anybody else working very closely with our Indian counterpart,” he said.

Pahlavi said such engagement would be possible after political change in Iran. “Hopefully once we are freed, we can start an entirely new chapter,” he said.

Earlier in the news conference, Pahlavi declared that he would lead a transition away from Iran’s current system and called on the international community to support the Iranian people. He outlined what he described as a plan for a democratic transition and urged foreign governments to act against what he called the regime’s “repressive capacity.”

Iran and India share centuries-old cultural links, including literary, linguistic and trade connections, and maintained close ties during much of the 20th century. Relations have evolved since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, shaped in recent years by regional politics, sanctions and energy considerations.

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