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Following are excerpts from an interview in French with Farah Diba Pahlavi, the former Empress of Iran, which aired on On TV on August 1, 2010:
Interviewer: You say that your compatriots are suffering today. What do you mean?
Farah Diba Pahlavi: They have been suffering for the past 30 years, because, as you may have seen or heard in the news, in a country with such human and natural resources, a large part of the population lives below the poverty line, and it is women who suffer most. Women who once enjoyed the same rights as men are being insulted, abused, flogged, stoned, and even raped in prisons. These stories make me sick.
Interviewer: Wasn't it the same before the Islamic revolution, during the Shah's rule?
Farah Diba Pahlavi: Of course not, of course not, of course not! Women were free, women would work, women were respected. They feel [the difference] now.
And look at the situation of the young, the students, even the workers and some religious people who were displeased with the current situation – say with Iran's economic situation. There is such a high rate of drug addicts among the young because they have lost all hope. Prostitution is spreading among women because of poverty. Iranian children who once had a life, who would go to school... Today, I see children begging in the streets. And the respect for Iran and Iranians throughout the world, our relations with all the countries of the region and the world... A country like Iran with such great natural resources has to import gas today. This is unbelievable.
You have seen the movement, the non-violent demonstrations that took place, because they demand more freedom and [struggle against] the existing oppression. Today, many people say "God bless his soul" about my late husband. They compare what they once had to what Iran could have been today, if not for the revolution.
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Regarding the Iranian identity – we are a country of Iranian Muslims. We are true Muslims – not in accordance with the Islam of the gentlemen who rule the country.
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As an Iranian, if positive things are done for Iran, I will be happy. I don't want Iran to be destroyed. If progress is achieved for Iran and the Iranians, I will be pleased. My criticism stems from the fact that the Iranians themselves are unhappy. Making loud statements and insulting the superpowers do not make you a superpower yourself. You need the means to turn into a superpower.
Interviewer: Don't you think that Iran possesses these means?
Farah Diba Pahlavi: The power of a country lies in the happiness, the prosperity, and the progress of its people. If the people are unhappy and do not have enough to eat – what power are we talking about?
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They caused so much harm and lied so much in the name of Islam that many Iranians do not want anything to do with religion anymore. They prefer to change their religion.
Interviewer: Internationally, Iran is considered to be a serious threat. Do you believe that military intervention against Iran is possible?
Farah Diba Pahlavi: From the bottom of my heart, I hope not. This is what the Iranian government wants. It would be a blessing for them to be attacked, because this would unite all Iranians. I myself would have nothing to say in such a case. I would be against such an attack.