Date: January 31, 2017
No : 2038-16
The Honorable Donald J. Trump
The President of the United States
The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20050
Dear Mr. President,
I would like to bring to your attention and consideration, the concerns of the freedom seeking Iranians who are faced with the dichotomy of being brutalized by the clerical dictatorship, while at the same time being potentially penalized by the restrictions enumerated in the new Presidential Executive Order.
A review of the policies and processes for the improvement of the national security of the United States of America is of course understandable. However, I hope that this review will not lead to the further victimization of the very Iranians who fled the terrorist regime of the Islamic Republic and sought refuge in the United States.
What the Iranian people have endured in the past four decades since the 1979 revolution is not easily expressed, but it has been well documented. Many international human rights organizations, as well as The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, have carefully recorded 38 years of atrocities committed by the theocratic regime of Iran against my compatriots. Tens of thousands have either died or been incarcerated at the hands of the regime, and millions have been forced into exile.
The United States has long been a welcoming land for my compatriots fleeing the terror of the theocrats. Moreover, members of the Iranian Diaspora continue to shine brightly in numerous fields, including academia and education, law and medicine, as well as the arts, entertainment, engineering, technology, business and literature. We must therefore differentiate the Iranian people from the ruthless regime ruling them.
The struggle against radical militant Islam cannot be won through appeasement or war. The only way to succeed in this struggle is by supporting and strengthening Iran’s civil society, which is at the heart of the Middle East. I therefore hope that the United States will play a pivotal role, along with other democratic governments, in supporting the brave people of Iran in their quest for liberty and justice.
We firmly believe that a democratic and secular Iran will bring peace and stability to the region, which is in the common interest of the free world and the Iranian people.
Respectfully,
Reza Pahlavi President Iran National Council for Free Election