Son of shah says talks with Iran ‘appeasement,’ new leaders ‘different faces of the same machine’

BERLIN, Germany — Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s ousted shah, argues that any negotiations with the clerical leadership in Tehran amount to “appeasement” and voiced hope that renewed street protests will topple it.

“The whole narrative of ceasefire and negotiation is still based on thinking that … you’re going to deal with people who all of a sudden have become pragmatists,” Pahlavi, who was visiting Germany after stops in Sweden and Italy, tells journalists.

“I don’t see that happening,” he says, condemning Iran’s new leaders after the killing of supreme leader Ali Khamenei and other senior figures as “different faces of the same machine.”

Pahlavi says Iran had “slaughtered innocent citizens by the thousands” and threatens Europe with long-range missiles. “No deal will solve this. No negotiations will solve this. It is in their DNA.”