WASHINGTON: The son of Iran’s late shah on Thursday voiced solidarity with Ukrainians who have suffered from Russian-fired drones allegedly sold by Tehran and urged new, tough action against the clerical regime.
“Our hearts go out to the Ukrainian people who are defending their sovereignty,” Reza Pahlavi told reporters after delivering an address from his home in exile in Washington on protests that have swept Iran.
“We accuse the Islamic regime of not only having completely destroyed our freedom,” he said, but “now it is also cooperating with those who are putting at risk another nation’s sovereignty.”
The European Union and Britain on Thursday finalized sanctions on three Iranian generals and an arms firm over the drones in Ukraine, which killed five people in Kyiv on Monday and have destroyed power stations and other vital civilian infrastructure.
US and European officials say they have evidence that Russia has bought low-cost Iranian drones that explode on impact. Russia and Iran at a Security Council session called by Western nations Wednesday both denied that the drones came from Tehran.
Pahlavi said there was little question that Iran’s clerical state, which replaced his father’s Western-oriented monarchy following the 1979 revolution, has meddled around the world.
“The question isn’t what the Iranian regime is doing. The question is how will the world react and whether it will take clear action to condemn the regime’s actions through sanctions with painful consequences,” he said.
He called international pressure “a win-win — the only one who stands to lose is the Islamic regime and we don’t care about that.”
Pahlavi advocates the formation of a secular democracy in Iran and not necessarily the restoration of the centuries-old monarchy, an option that has limited appeal inside the country.
In his address, Pahlavi said that Iranians have “inspired the admiration of the world” through more than one month of protests triggered by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the notorious “morality police,” which enforces dress codes for women.
“Your movement has also crippled the regime’s propaganda and narrative formation machine,” Pahlavi said.
“They wanted women to be slaves to men but you, Iran’s women, with the support of your husbands, brothers, fathers and sons have started the first women’s revolution in history.”
Pahlavi said he has made progress in working internationally to create a fund to assist Iranians who want to go on strike, although he said details were still being arranged.
Pahlavi reiterated calls on world powers to expel Iranian ambassadors and to stop negotiating with the clerical state, following months of failed efforts to restore a 2015 nuclear deal.
Son of late Iran shah voices solidarity with Ukraine over drones
https://arab.news/yvh6p
Son of late Iran shah voices solidarity with Ukraine over drones
- "Our hearts go out to the Ukrainian people who are defending their sovereignty," Reza Pahlavi
- "The question is how will the world react and whether it will take clear action to condemn the regime's actions through sanctions with painful consequences,"
US senators visit key Ukrainian port city as they push for fresh sanctions on Russia
- The visit and the push for Congress to take up sanctions on Russia come at a crucial moment in the conflict
WASHINGTON: A delegation of US senators was returning Wednesday from a trip to Ukraine, hoping to spur action in Congress for a series of sanctions meant to economically cripple Moscow and pressure President Vladimir Putin to make key concessions in peace talks.
It was the first time US senators have visited Odesa, Ukraine’s third-most populous city and an economically crucial Black Sea port that has been particularly targeted by Russia, since the war began nearly four years ago. Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, Chris Coons, Richard Blumenthal and Sheldon Whitehouse made the trip. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis had planned to join but was unable to for personal reasons.
“One of the things we heard wherever we stopped today was that the people of Ukraine want a peace deal, but they want a peace deal that preserves their sovereignty, that recognizes the importance of the integrity of Ukraine,” Shaheen said on a phone call with reporters.
The visit and the push for Congress to take up sanctions on Russia come at a crucial moment in the conflict. Delegations for the two sides were also meeting in Switzerland for two days of US-brokered talks, but neither side appeared ready to budge on key issues like territory and future security guarantees. The sanctions, senators hoped, could prod Putin toward settling for peace, as the US has set a June deadline for settlement.
“Literally nobody believes that Russia is acting in good faith in the negotiations with our government and with the Ukrainians,” Whitehouse said. “And so pressure becomes the key.”
Still, legislation to impose tough sanctions on Russia has been on hold in Congress for months.
Senators have put forward a range of sanction measures, including one sweeping bill that would allows the Trump administration to impose tariffs and secondary sanctions on countries that purchase Russia’s oil, gas, uranium and other exports, which are crucial to financing Russia’s military. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has also advanced a series of more-targeted bills that would sanction China’s efforts to support Russia’s military, commandeer frozen Russian assets and go after what’s known as Moscow’s “shadow fleet” of oil tankers being used to circumvent sanctions already in place.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who has co-sponsored the Senate’s sweeping sanctions and tariff legislation, also released a statement during the Munich Security Conference this weekend saying that Senate Majority Leader John Thune had committed to bringing up the sanctions bill once it clearly has the 60 votes needed to move through the Senate.
“This legislation will be a game changer,” Graham said. “President Trump has embraced it. It is time to vote.”
Blumenthal, who co-sponsored that bill alongside Graham, also said there is bipartisan support for the legislation, which he called a “very tough sledgehammer of sanctions and tariffs,” but he also noted that “we need to work out some of the remaining details.” Democrats, and a handful of Republicans, have been opposed to President Donald Trump’s campaign to impose tariffs around the world in an effort to strike trade deals and spur more manufacturing in the US
In the House, Democrats are opposed to the tariff provisions of that bill. Instead, a bipartisan group of lawmakers, led by Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, has proposed separate legislation that makes it more difficult for Trump to waive sanctions, but does away with the tariff provisions.
A separate bill, led by the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Gregory Meeks, would bolster US military support for Ukraine by $8 billion. Democrats currently need one more Republican to support an effort to force a vote on that bill.
Once they return to the US, the senators said they would detail how US businesses based in Ukraine have been attacked by Russia. The Democrats are also hoping to build pressure on Trump to send more US weapons to Ukraine. “Putin understands weapons, not words,” Blumenthal said.
Still, the lawmakers will soon return to a Washington where the Trump administration is ambivalent about its long-term commitments to securing peace in Ukraine, as well as Europe. For now, at least, they were buoyed by the conversations from their European counterparts and Republican colleagues.
“We and the Republican senators who were with us in Munich spoke with one voice about our determination to continue to support Ukraine,” Coons said.
