Prince Reza Pahlavi, at the ceremony of accepting the 2026 Freedom Prize of the "Friedrich Neumann" Foundation on behalf of the Iranian people, said: "The Iranian people want to direct the Islamic Republic, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards, the repression mechanism and the weapons used against the civilian people in Iran themselves. We want to protect the civilian people in Iran." Prince Reza Pahlavi continued: "The killing of every innocent Iranian in this war is a great pain for me that I carry in my heart, but the responsibility for this situation lies with the Islamic Republic, which brought the war to our country." He also said that a government that slaughters its own people, spends the country's wealth on foreign wars and turned Iran into an isolated country, is not the shield of national sovereignty, but the biggest threat against it. Prince Reza Pahlavi added: "Foreign pressure can weaken the Islamic Republic and this pressure is necessary, but it cannot replace the will of the Iranian people and should not try to determine the future of the country." "The decision regarding the future of Iran is the sole responsibility of the Iranian people."

Prince Reza Pahlavi, at the ceremony of accepting the 2026 Freedom Prize of the "Friedrich Neumann" Foundation on behalf of the Iranian people, said: "The Iranian people want to direct the Islamic Republic, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards, the repression mechanism and the weapons used against the civilian people in Iran themselves. We want to protect the civilian people in Iran." Prince Reza Pahlavi continued: "The killing of every innocent Iranian in this war is a great pain for me that I carry in my heart, but the responsibility for this situation lies with the Islamic Republic, which brought the war to our country." He also said that a government that slaughters its own people, spends the country's wealth on foreign wars and turned Iran into an isolated country, is not the shield of national sovereignty, but the biggest threat against it. Prince Reza Pahlavi added: "Foreign pressure can weaken the Islamic Republic and this pressure is necessary, but it cannot replace the will of the Iranian people and should not try to determine the future of the country." "The decision regarding the future of Iran is the sole responsibility of the Iranian people."