Iranian Republican Organizations Support Awarding the 2026 Freedom Prize to the Iranian People and Its Acceptance by Prince Reza Pahlavi

A group of Iranian republican political and civil society organizations, in a statement addressed to the Board of Directors of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, have backed the foundation's decision to award the 2026 Freedom Prize to the Iranian people and to invite Prince Reza Pahlavi to accept it on their behalf.

Full text of the statement (official English translation)

Statement in Support of Awarding the 2026 Freedom Prize

to the Iranian People and Its Acceptance by Prince Reza Pahlavi on Their Behalf

To: The Board of Directors and Officials of the "Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom"

Subject: Support for Awarding the 2026 Freedom Prize to the Iranian People and Its Acceptance by Prince Reza Pahlavi on Behalf of the Iranian People

Dear Members of the Board of Directors,

We, the undersigned, a group of Iranian republicans representing political and civil society organizations and associations, hereby express our support for the decision of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom to award the 2026 Freedom Prize to the Iranian people and to invite Prince Reza Pahlavi to accept this award in trust and on their behalf.

Our support for Prince Reza Pahlavi in his leadership role in the Lion and Sun National Revolution and during the transitional period following the overthrow of the Islamic Republic regime stems from the fact that the Iranian people have demonstrated on numerous occasions that Prince Reza Pahlavi, as the most prominent opposition figure to the Islamic Republic regime, enjoys the trust of the majority of the people.

We support Prince Reza Pahlavi not because of his association with any particular form of government, but because, like the majority of Iranians, we believe that Iran’s future system of government must not be predetermined or imposed upon the people by any individual, political organization, ideological movement, or foreign government. The final decision regarding the future form of government must be made by the Iranian people themselves through a free, transparent, and democratic process.

Our choice is a republic; however, another segment of Iranian society prefers a parliamentary monarchy. In a democratic Iran, supporters of both perspectives, provided they adhere to the principles of democracy, individual rights, and equality before the law, must be free to organize, express their views, compete with one another, and seek the votes and trust of the Iranian people.

It is the Iranian people who must have the final say.

Therefore, the urgent question before us today is not whether the future Iran will be a republic or a monarchy. Rather, the more fundamental question is how Iranians can liberate themselves from the bloodthirsty Islamic Republic regime and reach a stage at which they can freely determine their own political future.

What unites us with Prince Reza Pahlavi at this critical juncture is a set of fundamental principles:

1. Preservation of Iran’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty;
2. Protection of individual freedoms and equality of all citizens before the law;
3. Secularism, meaning the complete separation of religion and government;
4. Recognition of the sovereign right of the Iranian people to determine their future form of government through a free and democratic process.

Although we seek the establishment of a republican system in a free Iran, we recognize that our preference, like any other option for the country’s future political system, must ultimately be submitted to the judgment of the Iranian people through free and fair elections.

Accordingly, our support for Prince Reza Pahlavi rests on the conviction that, during the transitional period, Iran and its territorial integrity must be safeguarded, democratic institutions must be established, and the conditions must be created for the free participation of all Iranians in determining the form of government and drafting a secular-democratic constitution.

For this reason, we do not regard him, as he himself has repeatedly emphasized, as merely a representative of monarchists or any particular political faction.

Iran today lacks the political institutions through which a conventional democratic mandate can be obtained. There are no free nationwide elections; political parties cannot operate without restrictions; independent media are denied the freedom to operate at the national level; and no environment of free political competition exists in which different leaders and competing visions for the country’s future political system can seek public support.

Under such circumstances, political leadership and public trust must necessarily manifest themselves through other means, including collective action and visible public support.

The revolutionary events of January 2026 demonstrated that his calls for coordinated action generated a significant response inside occupied Iran, despite the grave dangers faced by protesters. His name and the Pahlavi name were heard during demonstrations and public protests in cities across Iran.

The events of February 14, 2026, likewise demonstrated a similar capacity to mobilize Iranians living outside occupied Iran across the world. In response to Prince Reza Pahlavi’s call for a Global Day of Action, gatherings involving hundreds of thousands of people took place in various parts of the world, bringing together Iranians from diverse backgrounds and political orientations.

For us, as Iranian republicans, these developments represent realities that must be acknowledged and recognized independently of our own preference regarding Iran’s future political system.

Support for Reza Pahlavi must not automatically be equated with support for the restoration of the monarchy.

Our own position is the clearest evidence of this reality.

Prince Reza Pahlavi’s current political role transcends the debate over “republic or monarchy.” Among those who support his role are Iranians with differing views on the ultimate structure of the future government. Despite these differences, they share a commitment to ending authoritarian rule, preserving Iran as a nation, establishing secular and democratic institutions, and restoring political sovereignty to the Iranian people. Inside occupied Iran, these Iranians have placed their own lives on the line on behalf of the free world and are fighting against the terrorist regime of the Islamic Republic.

We believe that the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, in its framing of the 2026 Freedom Prize, has rightly preserved this distinction.

Therefore, we, as Iranian republicans, declare our support for the decision of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom to invite Prince Reza Pahlavi to accept the 2026 Freedom Prize in trust and on behalf of the Iranian people.

This prize belongs to the Iranian people. Prince Reza Pahlavi will accept it in trust and on their behalf; and the democratic legitimacy of Iran’s future institutions will ultimately rest with representatives freely elected by the Iranian people.

We extend our gratitude to the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom for recognizing the Iranian people’s struggle for freedom and supporting their right to freely determine their own political future.

Respectfully,

Signatory Organizations and Associations