US bombs curbed nuclear program of Shia clerics, Rubio says

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that people in Iran need today what Ukrainians needed at the onset of Russia’s war on the country, urging the international community to speed up its support for Iranians.

“Today, the people of Iran expect from the world what we in Ukraine needed on February 24th (2022), when the Russian invasion began: unity, determination, and speed," he said at the Munich Security Conference. “And regimes like the one in Iran must not be given time. When they have time, they only kill more. They must be stopped immediately. And this is exactly what should have happened with the Ayatollah after all the wars his regime unleashed and all the lives it took.”

He further slammed the Iranian government sales of Shahed drones to Russia to target Ukrainian people and infrastructure, calling for an end to the government in Iran.

“The Iranian regime has already done and can still do more harm than many other regimes could do in the century. And yet this regime still exists, and it hopes to survive everything, even this crisis,” the Ukrainian president said.

The first court session was held for Ehsan Hosseinipour Hessarloo, Matin Mohammadi and Erfan Amiri, three detained protesters facing charges including arson and murder, Mizan, a news agency affiliated with Iran’s judiciary, reported on Saturday.

The three are accused of setting fire to a mosque in Pakdasht and of involvement in a killing, according to the report.

The judiciary also listed charges of “assembly and collusion with the intention of acting against [national] security,” alleging that the defendants responded to calls on social media platforms, including from the US President Donald Trump and Israel.

Maintaining the status quo in Iran risks further migration to Europe and deprives European countries of energy and economic opportunities, Prince Reza Pahlavi said.

“We have now a possibility of even more migration to Europe as a result of any continuation of the status quo,” he said, arguing that a democratic Iran could become a reliable energy supplier and strategic partner.

“A free Iran that would be able to supply Europe with its energy needs would certainly be an alternative to the only source that you have right now,” he added, referring to Europe’s reliance on Russia.

Pahlavi said political change in Iran would create a “win-win” outcome, opening the door to trade and investment while strengthening regional stability.

He also stressed that his objective is not to seek office. “I’m not running for office. I’m not running for a job. I’m not seeking a power or a title,” he said. “The day that happens, I consider that the end of my political mission in life,” referring to the establishment of an elected democratic government in Iran.

Further restricting the Islamic Republic’s access to revenue would weaken its ability to sustain its security forces and prolong its rule, Iran's exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi said on Saturday on the sidelines of Munich Press Conference.

“One way to weaken the regime even further is to impose more restrictions so that their source of revenue is cut off so they can no longer sustain their own elements,” he said, arguing that financial pressure would accelerate its collapse.

Pahlavi described the government as fragile and said it would attempt to circumvent sanctions, adding that monitoring enforcement is the responsibility of the international community.

“Any source of revenue to the regime will contribute to its ability to sustain itself a little bit longer, but at the end it will fall,” he said, urging faster action to limit what he called the negative regional consequences of its continued existence.

Instability across the Middle East is rooted in radical Islamist movements, including forces linked to Tehran, Prince Reza Pahlavi argued and said Iran’s current leadership poses a threat both at home and beyond its borders.

“This regime has only one purpose which is to export this ideology. It is a threat to its own people,” he said, adding that neighboring countries understand the consequences of its policies.

A future Iranian government committed to peaceful relations, Pahlavi said, would be welcomed in the region. “The only way to eliminate all the problems at once is for this regime to be no longer there and instead have a country where its people… will prove that unlike this regime, they are peacemakers and they believe in stability first and foremost,” he said.