Former Shah of Iran's widow appeals to Tehran's security forces: 'Before it's too late'

The former empress of Iran, Farah Pahlavi, the widow of the last Iranian shah toppled from power by the Islamic Revolution in 1979, appealed on Tuesday to the security forces to join the movement challenging the regime of the ayatollahs, the street actions continuing for over two weeks, AFP reports, taken over by Agerpres.

The appeal made by Farah Pahlavi (87 years old) comes after that of her son, the former crown prince Reza Pahlavi, who expressed himself in this regard in the last days, firmly supporting the demonstrators in the USA, his name being regularly chanted at the demonstrations in Iran.

“Remember that the survival of any government, the maintenance of any advantage, does not justify the shedding of blood of your fellow citizens,” she said, addressing the regime's security forces in Tehran and asking them to hear the “cries of anger and rage” of the protesters and “join them before it is too late.”

“I know the dark spirits have cut off your means of communication with the world for fear that your voices might be heard, but know that your message is too powerful to be silenced,” the former empress said in her statement.

Addressing the Iranians, whom she calls “my children”, she encourages them: “Be strong and believe that soon you will celebrate freedom together in Iran and that light will triumph over darkness!”

Farah Pahlavi, the third wife of the Shah, left Iran on January 16, 1979 with her husband, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, two weeks before the return of the leader of the Islamic revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

“Iranians have the right to peaceful demonstrations”

In Geneva, where a good part of the UN institutions are located, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, declared on Tuesday that he was “horrified” by the repression unleashed against the demonstrations in Iran, which has already killed more than 600 people since the beginning of the protests, according to the balance presented by a non-governmental organization.

“The killing of peaceful demonstrators must stop, it is unacceptable for the protesters to be classified as 'terrorists' to justify the violence unleashed against them”, emphasizes Volker in a statement. “Iranians have the right to peaceful demonstrations. Their grievances must be heard and taken into account and must not be instrumentalized by anyone,” added the High Commissioner.

Turk called on the Iranian authorities to “immediately end all forms of violence and repression against peaceful demonstrators and restore full access to the Internet and telecommunications services.” The UN official also demanded that those guilty of these serious violations be held accountable.

The death toll is uncertain

According to the NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR), the crackdown on the protest movement that began on December 28 amid the economic crisis but is now defying the regime is intensifying. The organization says it has confirmed the deaths of 648 protesters and approximately 10,000 arrests.

But the reality could be much more bleak, fears the cited NGO, mentioning unconfirmed reports that evoke up to 6,000 deaths. The authorities in Tehran have completely cut off internet communications since January 8, complicating the collection of information.

“As we saw in 2022, a large part of the Iranian population took to the streets to demand fundamental changes in the governance of their country,” but “once again, the authorities' response is to resort to brute force to suppress legitimate demands for change,” Turk said Tuesday.

“This cycle of terrifying violence cannot continue. The Iranian people and their demands for fairness, equality and justice must be heard,” he insisted.