Reacting to each threat from Iran's proxy groups independently, as if they were independent, will leave Israel in a perpetual state of vulnerability, Reza Pahlavi, exiled Crown Prince and last Shah of Iran, told an Iranian flag-wielding crowd on Friday afternoon at the Israeli-American Council's national summit in Washington, DC.
"Merely fighting Hamas or Hezbollah will not deliver security for Israel, for America," Pahlavi said. "You will be simply reacting, and your people will never have peace. The time of reacting to these reactionaries must come to an end."
Pahlavi's address to the IAC was highly anticipated. Several dozen supporters gathered outside the hotel prior to the afternoon plenary session, waving massive Iranian and Israeli flags.
The approximately thousand people in the ballroom rose to their feet numerous times during his speech.
"Rising antisemitism is taking enough lives on its own, but the 20th century showed us that when that hateful ideology is backed by a regime that seeks to enforce it through violence, it is considerably more dangerous. So it is time to say enough is enough," Pahlavi said.
It's time to draw a red line, he said, but sadly, "that red line had to be drawn with the blood of innocent civilians."
"Solidarity is no longer sufficient"
"My friends, in the past year, Iranians and Israelis have stood in solidarity. But solidarity is no longer sufficient," Pahlavi said. "Now it is time to do more than stand side-by-side. It is time to act hand-in-hand as we stand on this precipice together. The question I put before you today is simple: are you ready to do more than stand together? Are you ready to act together?"
The people of Iran have made their stance clear, Pahlavi said, and are fighting against this regime every day with no support from the outside world.
"They have sent me here with a message. They are not only fighting to free themselves but to free the Middle East and the world from the sword of this evil regime," Pahlavi added.
According to Pahlavi, the partnership between Israel and Iranians needs a "collaborative, coordinated campaign."
"We need to revive maximum pressure on the Islamic Republic," he said. "We need to offer maximum support to the people of Iran, and we need to facilitate maximum defections from the regime, so that we can peacefully transition from this criminal dictatorship to the secular democracy the Iranian people are fighting for."
He said if Israel and Iran fail to act, the Islamic Republic remains in power, and none of that will be possible.
"But if you work together, we can secure prosperity and dignity for our people, and stability and security for our world, and expand from the Abraham accords to the Cyprus Accords," Pahlavi said. "As we stand on the precipice of history, we do so united in our values and our vision. But now it is time to act."
"And when the light and the sun rise again, the world will see a new dawn of peace."