Exclusive; Prince Reza Pahlavi: With the formation of a national government, Iran's role in creating regional stability will be revived

In an interview with Voice of America, Prince Reza Pahlavi highlighted aspects of the Iranian Air Force's equipment prior to the 1979 revolution that transformed the Imperial Army into a regional power safeguarding security and stability. He emphasized that reviving this capability requires not only the establishment of a national government but also the public's will. In this exclusive interview, conducted on the sidelines of the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Iranian Air Force at the Richard Nixon Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California, Prince Reza Pahlavi stated that the Iranian Air Force, with 'about 100,000 personnel and 460 aircraft,' was ranked as the 'fifth most powerful air force in the world,' comparable to countries like 'Germany, England, and France,' which had 'approximately the same number of aircraft.' He recalled that at that time, 'no rival in the region could match us,' noting that Iran possessed 'F-14 aircraft and Phoenix missiles,' which 'created stability and calm in the region,' to the extent that 'Saddam Hussein was no longer thinking of attacking Iran.' Prince Reza Pahlavi emphasized that the Iranian air fleet was 'modernizing generation by generation,' explaining that 'the first batch of F-14s arrived in Iran, and at the same time I was training as a pilot in the U.S., F-16s were also supposed to arrive, but unfortunately, the revolution intervened and all these plans were canceled.' He added, 'Perhaps if this had not happened, by 1981, Iran would have had an air force with 800 aircraft, meaning 70 more F-14s and 300 F-16s, making it truly one of the most equipped air forces.' However, with the establishment of the Islamic Republic in Iran and the cancellation of contracts, 'the AWACS we had were given to the Saudis, and the F-16s were taken by the Israelis, and unfortunately, from that time everything started to decline.' In his continued exclusive interview with the Persian section of Voice of America, Prince Reza Pahlavi insisted that Iran at that time 'really had one of the strongest air forces,' which 'was not only a security factor for our country but also a factor for stability in the region.' He also mentioned that as soon as the Islamic Republic came to power, in addition to 'numerous purges and executions of many air force officers and canceling orders that Iran was supposed to receive,' the 'hostage crisis' prevented 'many spare parts that were supposed to reach Iran from arriving.' Referring to the start of the Iran-Iraq War, he recalled discussions with 'some pilots,' saying, 'We had to install parts from the F-14 that was not working onto another aircraft,' adding, 'At that time, some pilots told me that we even converted surface-to-air missiles into air-to-air missiles because we had no other choice.' He highlighted the sacrifices of the patriotic Iranian army forces during the Iran-Iraq War, stating that the Iranian forces 'held out in a way,' and with the situation where 'the regime from the beginning was weakening the army in terms of both personnel and equipment, if it were not for that air force, Saddam Hussein would have certainly occupied Khuzestan, and it was unclear what the outcome of the war would have been. This is where the importance of a strong army and a very powerful air force becomes clear.' Prince Reza Pahlavi emphasized that the Islamic Republic's 'mindset' has 'never been about national interests' and 'even suggested selling the aircraft to buy agricultural equipment. This shows they have no understanding of what power position means in terms of strategy and stability, and from this perspective, the decline and gradual weakening of the forces began.' He pointed out that the Islamic Republic's anti-Western policies led to the situation where most of today's aircraft equipment is Russian, and 'the opposition to America has shifted the entire system in another direction, the result of which we see today, where we stand compared to that time.' Prince Reza Pahlavi stressed that at that time, 'elites' with 'national pride' were inclined to become pilots, and their choice was not out of 'adventure,' while 'in today's conditions, no one wants to serve in the IRGC or become a pilot in this regime. When that sense of national pride comes into play, and the issue of the country's dignity and greatness, as well as proper investment and planning for national defense arises, the conditions will definitely be very different.' He added, 'I believe Iran, undoubtedly a country of 85 million with all its resources, will certainly have the capability to once again have a powerful army, primarily for its own protection and especially for stability in the region.' Prince Reza Pahlavi also pointed to the Islamic Republic's role in regional instability, stating: 'Now see all the world's concerns about regional instability and a terrorist-producing regime that wants to acquire nuclear weapons has created a situation in the mindset of the region and the world, so a country that used to maintain regional security; and this is a role that a key country in the region like Iran can certainly play, and regional stability can be revived in favor of our national interests and security issues.' He spoke about the younger generation's perspective on contemporary history and national and regional events, saying, 'Today's youth will definitely analyze and compare and see where we were and where we are now,' and regarding the possibility of reviving the military power of the air force, while emphasizing the necessity of establishing a national government, he added: 'This also requires the mindset of the people. It is not just the government that comes and makes a series of decisions. Society itself must also support and defend this program.' Prince Reza Pahlavi also recalled the bombing of the capital during the Iran-Iraq War, saying: 'I remember at the start of the war when I heard that people in Tehran had to flee to the mountains out of fear of bombings and bombs that reached the upper parts of Tehran, I said, how is it possible that the Iraqis, who did not dare to look across the Arvand River, now managed to reach the point where they could bomb Tehran, let alone the region. These are the kinds of things that remain in the national memory, and every powerful country in the world has a powerful army.' He emphasized the importance of having military equipment in addition to equipping other industries, stating that Iran can have 'regional cooperation' with other countries in the future; Prince explained: 'When we talk about NATO, instead of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, or other countries each wanting to bear all military and other expenses, we can have regional contracts.' Prince Reza Pahlavi stressed that by reducing costs through these regional cooperations, the budget can be allocated to other issues such as health and education; although 'it cannot be forgotten that the issue of defense for any country is important; whether air, sea, or land. It is necessary for any country, especially for a country like Iran.' He further noted that 'Iran could have been a global hub for all airlines from different countries' and 'one of the major regional centers in terms of airports and related facilities,' but 'we have fallen behind in this regard, and other countries have filled the gap.' Prince Reza Pahlavi added that 'keeping aircraft up to date' and modernizing the air fleet is also important from a civilian perspective, including economically, and by ensuring 'passenger safety,' Iran 'can be one of the global hubs in the tourism industry.' He also pointed to the changes in warfare methods compared to the past, stating that specialists must assess and decide to replace modern equipment with 'obsolete' facilities, and 'in terms of security and safety for combat pilots, passenger pilots, and travelers,' the air fleet must be equipped, as currently 'no one dares to board an aircraft' because 'these equipments have truly exceeded their useful lifespan and have not been replaced'; while 'all the billions that the regime has spent on nuclear facilities and other things, if it had spent on these, at least we wouldn't have fallen behind or faced shortages in this regard.' He regarded the loss of the air transit market and the lack of modern airports as 'the result of improper planning, design, or management' by the Islamic Republic officials, which 'we all know the damage of, and all of this can be corrected in the long run if we have a proper perspective on this issue.' Prince Reza Pahlavi considered the centenary of the establishment of the Imperial Air Force a 'source of pride,' stating: 'More important than myself is that today's generation knows how much these individuals worked, strived, and remained loyal and served in that country, and there is a spirit and national pride that the regime could not even tolerate, and many of them were eliminated and dismissed; while they could have continued to serve their country until they were forced to leave the country and go into exile.' Prince Reza Pahlavi emphasized that although 'we lost many of our intellectual forces,' the 'existence of patriotic forces is a source of pride' and also 'a message that we really had an Iran with all these resources at one time; and I hope one day in the future we can have that again.