The exiled son of the Shah, who was overthrown in 1979, condemned the crackdown on civilians and claimed that “help is on the way” from the United States. His messages were broadcast during the disruption of media outlets controlled by the regime of Ali Khamenei.
Former Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi urged Iran’s armed forces and security forces to leave the Islamic Republic and join anti-government protesters in edited video clips that were broadcast on Sunday during a hack of state television.
“Employees of state institutions and the armed and security forces have the opportunity to join the people and stand with the nation, or to stand with the murderers of the people and bring upon themselves the eternal shame and curse of the nation,” Pahlavi declared in one of the messages broadcast during the disruption.
The son of Iran’s ousted Shah, who lives in exile, specifically warned military personnel about the consequences of repressing civilians. The clips appeared to have been taken from videos Pahlavi posted on his social media accounts on January 12 and 13, before being edited and rebroadcast during Sunday’s television interruption.
In another message, Pahlavi claimed that the United States would support the protesters: “You should have heard the message from the President of the United States by now. Help is on the way,” he said, referring to recent statements by President Donald Trump calling for a change in leadership in Iran.
The hacked broadcast also included graphics promoting Pahlavi, calling him “our voice” and claiming he would bring global support to the opposition. Other messages indicated that “the United States is with you” and that Europe also backed the protesters.
Appeal to the Military Forces
Pahlavi addressed a particularly urgent message to Iranian military personnel: “I have a special message for the military personnel: you are the national army of Iran, not the army of the Islamic Republic. You have a duty to protect the lives of your fellow citizens. You don’t have much time left. Join the people as soon as possible.”
The messages broadcast during the hack also claimed that security forces were withdrawing from major urban centers and that “thousands of members of the armed forces have laid down their arms and pledged allegiance to the people,” claims that could not be independently verified.
It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the apparent hack. Iran’s Radio and Television Organization acknowledged on Monday that its satellite signal “was interrupted for a few moments” in some regions of the country on Sunday afternoon, but indicated that the outage was “resolved immediately.”
The outage displayed graphics in Farsi with messages against the Islamic Republic and urging Iranians to continue protests against the clerical system. Videos circulating on social media of the hack show the full sequence of images and messages.Protests and Repression
Iran has been rocked by nationwide protests since late December, fueled by the economic crisis and the depreciation of the rial, which quickly morphed into a movement calling for the end of the Islamic Republic. The demonstrations reached their peak on January 8 and 9, with an explosion of protests across virtually the entire country.
In response, Iranian authorities cut off communications, including global internet access, and deployed security forces nationwide to suppress the demonstrations. According to the Oslo-based opposition NGO Iran Human Rights, the crackdown has resulted in more than 3,400 deaths and 19,000 arrests. An Iranian official acknowledged at least 5,000 deaths on Monday.
Iranian authorities have repeatedly blamed foreign enemies for the unrest. Tehran has denounced the United States and Israel as being behind what it considers “riots” and “terrorist acts,” and held President Trump responsible for the deaths of “several thousand” people.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
0 Comments