Council of Iranian Canadians

In the early hours of this morning, in a public square in Isfahan, the regime in Iran, executed two more young protestors, heroes from the Lion and Sun uprising in January: Abolfazl Sepahi Badjani and Amirhossein Safari Hosseinabadi. This growing wave of executions is a sign of an increasingly desperate regime, that has lost all legitimacy. But despite enormous risk to their own lives, the people of Isfahan proved that the Islamic Republic's campaign of terror is failing. Risking bullets, imprisonment, and death, ordinary citizens gathered in Alikhani Square in a heroic attempt to stop these executions. Their courage showed that fear has given way to defiance. The gallows will not save the Islamic Republic. A people willing to stand unarmed before bullets and execution to protect one another cannot be defeated. We stand with the families of Abolfazl Sepahi Badjani and Amirhossein Safari Hosseinabadi, whose sacrifice will not be forgotten. Those who ordered and carried out these murders must know that justice may be delayed, but it will come. They will be held accountable before a free Iran and under the rule of law. At least eight more political prisoners from the same case remain under imminent threat of execution. The world must not look away. Democratic governments, international organizations, and human rights institutions must use every available tool to increase pressure on the Islamic Republic and stop its machinery of executions before more innocent lives are taken.

Statement Regarding Recent Social Media Clips from Prince Reza Pahlavi’s Reuters Interview: Yesterday a short clip of Prince Reza Pahlavi’s recent hour-long interview with Reuters was shared on social media. In it, he refers to his strategy of seeking defections from the Islamic Republic to ensure a more peaceful transition. The clip was cut and shared out of context and does not reflect the entirety of the Prince’s position and defections strategy. The Prince has always believed that criminal elements of the regime should face justice for their crimes but that those who wish to join the movement against the regime, be part of a peaceful transition, and help build Iran’s future, should be welcomed. In June 2025, in order to streamline and professionalize this process the Prince announced the “National Cooperation” platform. The platform, monitored and managed by a team of technology, data, and security professionals, allowed for the processing of a far greater number and a more strenuous vetting of potential defectors. The platform was broadcast into Iran via the most-watched satellite broadcast in the country, Iran International. In the months that followed, tens of thousands signed up for the platform from across Iran’s political, military, and bureaucratic institutions. Thousands were members of the armed forces. Others occupied positions in civil institutions. Among those were senior regime and military officials, verified by their national identification cards. Others were members of the armed forces who were later killed in the January 8th and 9th uprising. All were keen to break from the regime and support the national movement against it. The “National Cooperation” platform has since been updated and improved and continues to engage potential defectors across the state apparatus. More information will be provided on this platform in the coming weeks. This background gives relevant, additional context to the specific answer the Prince gave to a specific question, regarding an interview he gave in 2018, both of which are reflected below: “QUESTION: You've said in a 2018 interview on Iran International that you've had dialogues with members of the IRGC and the Basij. More recently, you've asked some of them to defect. What exactly is your position on the IRGC? PRINCE REZA PAHLAVI: Again, that's a great question. Thank you for asking it, because a lot of things have to be clarified. After the Green Movement, and closer to the time when the Woman, Life, Freedom movement began, I started receiving direct messages on social media from people saying, 'I'm a Basiji in Mashhad,' or, 'I'm a member of the IRGC in such and such place. We hate this regime. We're not with them. We're looking for an opportunity to break away,' and so on. When I told the media that I was in touch with elements like that, it was in that context. It's not that I was talking to the IRGC command. Not at all. But there were elements of the Basij, the Sepah, and of course the military as well, who would communicate with me discreetly, as a sign that this was their position...” The Prince remains firm in his belief that the Islamic Republic will be defeated with national cooperation, national solidarity, and national unity bringing together Iranians of all backgrounds and will continue and expand his efforts to secure political and military defections from the criminal regime as a means to bring about the end of its reign of terror.