Exiled Iranian Empress Farah Pahlavi calls on security forces to join anti-government protests, saying “light will triumph over darkness” despite a deadly crackdown.
PARIS: The exiled former Empress of Iran, Farah Pahlavi, has called on the country’s security forces to support the ongoing protests against the clerical leadership.
In a statement, the 87-year-old widow of the last Shah urged forces not to shed the blood of their compatriots.
She told them to hear the cries of the protesters and join their “brothers and sisters” before it is too late.
“I know that the dark-minded have cut off your lines of communication with the outside world out of fear of hearing your voice, but know that your message is too loud to be silenced,” she said, referencing a prolonged internet blackout.
Addressing the Iranian people as “my children”, she urged strength and expressed belief that they would soon celebrate freedom.
“Light will triumph over darkness,” she added.
This is her first statement since protests escalated into large-scale demonstrations last week calling for an end to the Islamic republic.
She had previously welcomed the protests in early January as “filling my heart with pride”.
Farah Pahlavi left Iran with her husband, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, on January 16, 1979, just weeks before the return of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Her son, former crown prince Reza Pahlavi, has become a key diaspora figure, calling for nightly rallies and seeking support from US President Donald Trump.
Pro-monarchy slogans have been frequent chants during the protests, which activists fear have left hundreds dead in a government crackdown.
