The Islamic Republic’s negotiators in talks with the US are “different faces of the same machine,” that suppresses the Iranian people, exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi said at a press conference in Berlin on Thursday.
“They are not pragmatists; they are not reformers,” he said, referring to lead negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi during his speech at the Haus der Bundespressekonferenz. “Neither are the IRGC killers behind the curtains.”
Pahlavi was in Berlin for meetings with German lawmakers and members of the press as part of a European trip focused on Iran’s political future.
The Iranian prince warned that continued rule by the Islamic Republic would lead to further conflict in the region as the authorities will continue to pose threats to the people, the region, and beyond as long as they remain in power.
“For 47 years, the world has known Iran through the actions of a regime that took a great nation hostage,” Pahlavi said. “No deal will solve this. No negotiations will solve this. It is in their DNA.”
‘Choosing free Iran over a dying regime’
Pahlavi further addressed Europe, saying it faces a choice between the current Iranian system and a free Iran that could become a partner for stability.
“The choice before Europe is not between war and peace. It is between a dying regime that endangers us all and a free Iran that can become a partner for stability,” he said.
The Iranian prince urged European authorities to seek “a new course” in dealing with Tehran, or keep facing “constant blackmail” from the Islamic Republic.
“European governments must stop appeasing this regime. Expel regime ambassadors, refuse to legitimize any arrangements that preserve the IRGC-centered power structure and prepare to recognize the transitional government when it is announced,” he said, addressing European powers.
‘Iranians don’t want to see regime legitimized’
Pahlavi referred to nationwide protests in Iran, saying the Iranian people demand world countries refrain from strengthening or legitimizing a government that terrorizes the nation.
“The Iranian people are not asking us to fight their revolution. They are already doing that, and with a courage that should humble all of us,” he said. “They are asking something far more modest: do not legitimize those who oppress them. Do not strengthen those who terrorize them.”
He said it was time for the world to “catch up with their courage,” noting that the international community’s contribution to their struggle could help bring about an end to the government's violence.
“If you stand with us, if you act in honor of those 40,000 innocent protesters, you will save lives, you will stop the flow of blood,” he said.
Pahlavi also touched upon the Iran war, saying the destruction of governmental infrastructure employed in suppressing dissent, could potentially facilitate protests aimed at subverting the government.
“The air cover campaign that included hitting the regime infrastructure and apparatus of repression was a necessary step to equalize the playing field for the Iranians who were getting massacred on the streets defenseless, by a regime that used military weapons to hit them on the streets,” Pahlavi said.
He argued that a democratic transition in Iran could reduce regional tensions and open the way for broader economic cooperation.
“A free Iran would be a stabilizing anchor for the entire Middle East, ending the proxy wars that have ravaged Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, and Syria, and becoming a partner for regional economic integration,” Pahlavi said.
It said Farid headed a non-military defense management committee at one of the country’s sensitive organizations, without naming it, and had shared information including organizational structures, security arrangements and infrastructure.
Rights groups had earlier said Farid was arrested in 2023 and had been working at the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. They said he was first held in Tehran’s Greater Tehran prison before being transferred to Evin prison.
Iran Human Rights had reported last year that he was “initially sentenced to 10 years in prison” and, after a retrial, “sentenced to death on charges of spying for Israel.”
The judiciary said Farid had connected internal servers to infected files on instructions from a Mossad officer and enabled outside access to systems using USB devices.
It added that Farid confessed during the case process to transferring information and had been promised payment and help to leave the country.
Rights groups have raised concerns about the use of forced confessions and due process in Iran.
Atomic-linked executions
Iran has carried out several executions in recent months in cases tied to its nuclear sector and alleged links to Israel.
In October, rights group Hengaw said Iran executed Javad Naeimi, described as a nuclear engineer working at the Natanz facility, after convicting him of spying for Israel.
The group said he was hanged in Qom Central Prison and that the execution was carried out in secrecy. Iranian state media reported the execution of a man on espionage charges at the time but did not identify him.
Hengaw said Naeimi had been arrested in February 2024 and sentenced to death after what it described as an opaque judicial process, adding that he was subjected to torture and coerced confessions during interrogation.
In August, Iran executed nuclear scientist Rouzbeh Vadi on similar charges. The judiciary said he had been recruited by Mossad and transferred classified information.
A relative told Iran International that Vadi confessed only after severe torture and threats against his mother, and said the case relied on a televised confession. Rights groups have long raised concerns about the use of forced confessions in such cases.
Following heightened tensions with Israel and the US, Iranian authorities have stepped up arrests, trials and executions in espionage cases, drawing criticism from rights groups and UN experts over due process.
"I want this account recorded so that if I live, I can testify in any court, and if I do not, this narrative tells part of the crime that happened in those two nights in Mashhad... Our war with the Islamic Republic continues in the streets. I estimate my chances of staying alive in the coming days at about 20 percent."
These were the last words the young man shared with Iran International before he went missing a few days after the January massacre. There has been no news of his fate for more than eight weeks while the Iranian government continues to cut internet and phone lines.
Witness accounts and reports reaching Iran International describe a coordinated massacre in the city on January 8 and 9, as security forces used a communications blackout to open fire on crowds with live ammunition.
Snipers on rooftops
On Tabarsi Street in Mashhad, members of the Revolutionary Guard took positions on rooftops starting at 9 p.m. Witnesses said they fired directly into the crowds. Plainclothes agents moved through the smoke of tear gas to kill protesters with handguns.
"From 10 p.m. onwards, the number of dead bodies lying on the ground was so high that the smell of blood was clearly felt in the air," one witness told Iran International. He added that security forces attacked an ambulance at midnight and killed or wounded protesters with "finish-off" shots.
Mass burials in secret
At Behesht-e Rezvan cemetery in Mashhad, a source familiar with the matter said the head of the facility reported that more than 400 bodies arrived on the night of January 9. Many could not be identified because they were shot in the face and neck.
Reports indicate that authorities carried out mass burials. The source who was present at the cemetery told Iran International that about 400 people were buried together in a single instance because their faces were unrecognizable from gunshot wounds.
Orders to spread fear
A source within the Khorasan Razavi Governor’s Office told Iran International that provincial leaders met on the morning of January 9. The instruction from higher authorities was to suppress the protests at any cost.
"It was stated that it does not matter how many are killed: 'Just scare the people in such a way that on January 10, no one dares to come to the street and protest,'" the source said.
Firefighters killed for helping
The crackdown also hit emergency workers. Firefighters in Mashhad were ordered by the municipality to participate in the suppression, but many refused and helped the protesters instead.
Hamid Mahdavi, a firefighter and athlete, was shot and killed while helping protesters. Other firefighters who refused the orders have been arrested.
At Farabi Hospital in Mashhad, a nurse said staff issued 500 death certificates between midnight and 7 a.m. on January 10.
In the courtyard of the Chamran clinic, a woman searching for her husband described seeing bodies in black covers stacked in three rows. She said a large trailer arrived and workers with covered faces began throwing more bodies from the vehicle onto the courtyard floor.
The Iranian government has maintained an internet and phone blackout for more than eight weeks. Iran International reports that the Islamic Republic killed more than 36,500 protesters across Iran during the two nights of Jan. 8 and 9.
Greek risk management firm MARISKS said unknown actors posing as Iranian authorities had contacted companies whose vessels are stuck west of the strategic waterway, asking for transit fees in Bitcoin or Tether in return for “clearance.”
"These specific messages are a scam," the firm said in an alert, adding the communications did not originate from Iranian authorities.
The warning comes as the United States continues a blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran has imposed restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz, a key chokepoint through which about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas once passed before conflict disrupted flows.
Amid ceasefire talks, Tehran has suggested collecting tolls from vessels seeking safe transit, contributing to uncertainty among shipowners.
Hundreds of vessels and roughly 20,000 seafarers remain stranded in the Persian Gulf due to the disruptions, according to the firm.
On April 18, when Iran briefly allowed limited passage subject to inspections, several ships attempted to transit, but at least two vessels, including a tanker, reported that Iranian boats fired shots, forcing them to turn back.
MARISKS said it believed at least one ship that came under fire while trying to leave the strait on Saturday may have been affected by the fraudulent scheme.
The messages cited by the firm said vessels would need to submit documents for review by Iranian security services, after which a cryptocurrency fee would be set before transit at a pre-arranged time.