The crown prince of Iran and last heir to the Iranian monarchy, Prince Reza Pahlavi, has stressed the importance of the uprising in Iran in a statement on Thursday, saying that the Iranian people have reached a conclusion after 40 years of living under a religious dictatorship, that this regime cannot be fixed.

He also said that the younger generation Iranians have no hope in fixing the current dictatorship of a regime, while the country suffers from poverty, hunger and unemployment because of corruption.

In a lengthy statement to Al Arabiya’s Panorama program, Pahlavi said that the Iranians’ message is clear: that the system needs to be fully changed and replaced with a democratic regime. This is the only way to rebuild the country and ensure all the rights of Iranian citizens, he said.

“Iran could have been the Japan of the middle east, but unfortunately it has become like North Korea,” Pahlavi added. He also said that previous similar experiences have proved that regimes based on dictatorship do not continue, and that one ideology cannot control a whole country, adding that Iranians need to depend on themselves.

Pahlavi stressed the importance of the success of this uprising to topple the regime for the benefit of the Iranian people and the region. He added that he does not support internal violence or foreign military intervention.

source: Alarabiya