‘CROWN PRINCE’ REZA PAHLAVI’S FASCIST MANIFESTO FOR IRAN

Adolf Hitler notoriously said: “By means of shrewd lies, unremittingly repeated, it is possible to make people believe that heaven is hell – and hell heaven. The greater the lie, the more readily it will be believed.” Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, son of the ousted Shah of Iran, seems to be utilizing Hitler’s playbook. On August 1^st this year he unveiled his plans for the future of Iran, after the hoped-for overthrow of the mullahs’ theocratic regime. The Pahlavi Plan is a manifesto for fascism, with himself in the role of Fuhrer, Duce or Supreme Leader, mirroring the roles of Hitler, Mussolini and even the current Iranian tyrant Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Under his plan, a government led by himself as potentate, would hold power for at least three years, with Pahlavi exercising absolute autocratic control. He would personally appoint the heads of the executive, legislature, judiciary, and intelligence service and be answerable to no one.

Each time the theocratic regime appears to teeter on the brink of extinction, Reza Pahlavi, the 64-year-old playboy son of the deposed Shah, re-surfaces from his luxury mansion in the suburbs of Washington D.C., to stake his claim to the Peacock Throne. His father – Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi was a cruel dictator, detested by the majority of Iranians and overthrown in a popular revolution in 1979. His regime was notorious for its severe human rights abuses, corruption, and economic exploitation of Iran’s resources.

But, seemingly untroubled by the legacy of his father’s ruthless secret police SAVAK, Pahlavi has admitted to being in contact with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), ostensibly to maintain order after the overthrow of the mullahs’ regime. Indeed, Pahlavi, who has learned nothing from his father’s disastrous authoritarian legacy, proudly includes a role for the IRGC’s personnel to be merged with other institutions. It is almost like Winston Churchill vowing to keep the Gestapo to maintain order after the collapse of the Nazis!

With no support inside Iran and rock-bottom credibility, Pahlavi has become a comedy figure. Many Iranians joke that he is the living proof that God has a sense of humour. While 90 million Iranians suffer extreme poverty and deprivation, the ‘Clown Prince’ has enjoyed a life of Western luxury, with properties and possessions amassed on the back of the billions of dollars looted from the Iranian people by his father.

Undeterred, the Pahlavi manifesto says: “Following the overthrow of the Islamic Republic in a national revolution by the Iranian people and the joining of the armed forces and law enforcement with the people, a Transition System will manage the country during the interim period. This Transition System will operate under the leadership of the Leader of the National Uprising [Reza Pahlavi] and will consist of three bodies: the National Uprising Body, the Transitional Government, and the Transitional Judiciary. Emphasizing Iranian nationalism, Pahlavi advocates for a secular state that promotes Iranian culture and heritage. Both Hitler and Mussolini emphasized aggressive nationalism in their ideologies, promoting the supremacy of their nations and often seeking to unify or expand their territories based on nationalistic sentiments.

Pahlavi claims that a strong, centralized authority is necessary to restore order and stability in Iran. This would potentially lead to a governance model that limits political pluralism in favour of an authoritarian approach. Fascist regimes under Hitler and Mussolini were characterized by a rejection of democratic governance and an embrace of authoritarianism, where dissent was suppressed, and power was concentrated in the hands of a single leader or party. Indeed, Pahlavi’s proposals have resounding echoes of his father’s single party dictatorship.

A strong emphasis on national security and the role of military forces in restoring order is evident in Pahlavi’s proposals, suggesting that a robust military presence would play a role in governance. Both Hitler and Mussolini relied heavily on militarization as a means of consolidating power and maintaining social order, often glorifying military strength as a central aspect of their national identity. Once again, this was a key characteristic of the hated Shah of Iran, Pahlavi’s father.

Pahlavi, ludicrously, has aimed to position himself as a voice for the Iranian people against the current regime, utilizing populist rhetoric that he hopes will appeal to national pride and unity. Populism was a key feature of fascist movements, with leaders presenting themselves as champions of the common people against perceived elite or foreign threats. To promote his vision, Pahlavi appears eager to seek to control narratives and utilize the media to build support for his agenda, reminiscent of how fascist regimes managed information to maintain power. Hitler and Mussolini were masters of propaganda, using state-controlled media to disseminate their ideologies and suppress dissenting viewpoints.

The shortest possible description of the Pahlavi manifesto is that it is a comprehensive roadmap for establishing a dictatorship infused with neo-fascism. The proposal suggests the nomination of a Transitional Government with ministers “appointed by the head of the government [himself appointed by Reza Pahlavi] after approval by the National Uprising Body (all appointed by Reza Pahlavi).” It goes on to say: “The structure of the Transitional Government (e.g., number of ministries and agencies) will be determined in consultation with the National Uprising Body and with the Leader’s approval.” The plan also contains a blatantly fascist tactic, stating that one of the key measures for “maintaining law and order to prevent social unrest” will be to introduce “martial law in 20 critical and high-risk cities.”

The Pahlavi manifesto is highly authoritarian, embracing the extreme centralization of power in one leader, with no elections, no separation of powers, no transparency and no accountability. Pahlavi himself would exercise absolute autocratic control, answerable to no one. The proposed “Transition System” even mirrors the current clerical regime in structure and, in some respects, surpasses it in authoritarianism by eliminating public participation entirely.

The only way to oppose a bad idea is to replace it with a good idea and Pahlavi’s fascist manifesto is quintessentially a bad idea. A good idea is to back the people of Iran and their democratic and courageous Resistance Units of the People’s Mojahedin of Iran/Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/MEK).