(Los Angeles Times) Nick Timiraos - Reza Pahlavi, 45, the son of the late shah of Iran, said Wednesday that military strikes would only rally support for Iran's hard-line rulers and that continued diplomacy and negotiations would give Tehran time to pursue nuclear weapons. Instead, he urged the international community to help support and unify opposition groups inside and outside Iran to increase pressure on the nation's ruling Islamic clerics. "The problem with these negotiations all along was the false assumption that the other side wants a solution to avert a crisis," Pahlavi told the National Press Club. "Increasingly unpopular, the Islamic Republic needs an atmosphere of crisis to justify its increased militarization." Pahlavi opposes punitive measures such as economic sanctions, instead urging steps such as freezing assets and restricting travel for the ruling clerics.
2006-03-03 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive