Prince Reza Pahlavi: Sexual and Gender Minorities in Iran Had Freedom Before the 'Mullah Regime'

Prince Reza Pahlavi, in a speech at the 'Candid Speech' award ceremony, supported the rights of sexual and gender minorities in Iran, emphasizing that what is happening in Iran is a 'national movement' and 'revolution' that has united Iranians from all walks of life. Prince Reza Pahlavi spoke on Saturday evening, November 11, at the Lincoln Awards ceremony, held annually by the 'Log Cabin Republicans,' a conservative organization supporting the rights of sexual and gender minorities in the U.S. While receiving the 'Candid Speech' award, he stated, 'I want to receive this gift not on my own behalf, but on behalf of millions of my compatriots who, despite being under unprecedented repression, are truly brave, and only a few in the West can understand the price they pay.' He particularly thought of Iranian LGBTQ community members who have been forced to live in fear and silence for 44 years. He declared, 'Today I stand with you and am proud to defend the Iranian LGBTQ community, and they should know that just as I defend the rights of any other Iranian, I defend their rights too.' He pointed out that while equal rights for 'gays and lesbians in America and around the world have become normalized both legally and socially,' this is not the case in Iran. In fact, he noted that Iran has regressed into darkness, where LGBTQ community members are stoned, hanged in public squares by cranes, tortured and sexually assaulted in prisons, and forced to undergo gender reassignment surgeries and other unspeakable crimes. He stated that what the Iranian community faces is not just social discrimination but a government policy aimed at completely eradicating them. Referring to the history of social freedom for homosexuals in Iran before the Islamic Republic, he added, 'But this has not always been the case. Before the mullah regime took over our country in 1979, gays and lesbians enjoyed extensive social freedoms.' He emphasized that the 'regression' applies to everyone since the rise of the Islamic Republic, pointing to restrictions on Baha'is, Christians, Jews, Sunni Muslims, Zoroastrians, and violations of women's rights. He also stated that what is happening in Iran now is 'not merely a movement to preserve or promote the rights of one segment of society,' but 'a national movement. A revolution that has united Iranians from all walks of life. I am confident that although the people of Iran have never experienced true democracy, they have achieved a significant political awakening despite or because of four decades of pain, suffering, deprivation, and even intimidation; they have realized that only when they unite and help each other can they save themselves.' He stressed that the people of Iran, whether gay or straight, conservative or liberal, religious or secular, republican or monarchist, rural or urban, have come together as a united nation in the fight against the criminal regime that has occupied our great country for a long time. Concurrently with the award ceremony, a number of Iranians residing in California gathered to support him. Bahman Shahangian, one of the organizers of this gathering, described Prince Reza Pahlavi as 'the most effective representative of the Iranian people abroad' and told Voice of America that 'we are looking for a popular, secular, and democratic government,' and he 'makes this very clear.' Shirin Zand Vakili, one of the Iranians present at the gathering, also told Voice of America that she stands with Prince Reza Pahlavi for the freedom of Iran.