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Mohammad Reza Pahlavi

56 quotes

“... some parties think that only the rules laid down by their doctrines are the right ones. Our strength resides in the fact that our revolution does not desire the triumph of one Social class or of one ideology over another.... Ours is a White Revolution: we adopt no slogan but we embrace everything which seems good to us, whether it be labelled communism, socialism or capitalism.... My final aim is to bring Iran, within twenty years, to the same l”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) first seen 1963 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: January 27, 1963, as quoted in The Shah's Story, page 76
“O Cyrus, great King, King of Kings, Achaemenian King, King of the land of Iran. I, the Shahanshah of Iran, offer thee salutations from myself and from my nation. Rest in peace, for we are awake, and we will always stay awake.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) first seen 1971 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Opening speech on October 12, 1971, when Iran marked the 2500th anniversary of Cyrus' founding of the Persian Empire
“I perfectly understand the particular attention which you pay to the question of nuclear energy, and fully realize the possible dangers and catastrophes which might result for mankind from an irresponsible attitude. In this field my wish is for Iran to put all her efforts towards the peaceful use of atomic energy. We shall continue to co-operate with all the nations of the world to attain this end in the interests of human society.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) first seen 1977 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Message to the White House, April 1977, as quoted in The Shah's Story, page 67-68
“I heard the voice of your revolution... As Shah of Iran as well as an Iranian citizen, I cannot but approve your revolution... Let all of us work together to establish real democracy in Iran … I make a commitment to be with you and your revolution against corruption and injustice in Iran.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Today the name of America has a magic meaning for the most distant communities of the world.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As far as we are concerned, we are not the toys of any country, including the United States.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) first seen 1973 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: From an appearance on Meet the Press in 1973,
“I don’t deny I’m lonely. Deeply so. A king, when he doesn’t have to account to anyone for what he says and does, is inevitably very much alone. But I’m not entirely alone because I’m accompanied by a force that others can’t see. My mystical force. And the I get messages. Religious messages. I’m very, very religious. I believe in God, and I’ve always said that if God didn’t exist, it would be necessary to invent him. Oh, I feel so sorry for those poor souls who don’t have God. You can’t live without God. I’ve lived with God ever since the age of five. That is, since God gave me those visions.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) first seen 1973 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Oriana Fallaci (December 30, 1973), The Mystically Divine Shah of Iran (interview), Chicago Tribune
“My visions were miracles that saved the country. My reign has saved the country and it’s saved it because God was besides me. I mean, it’s not fair for me to take all the credit for myself for the great things that I’ve done for Iran. Mind you, I could. But I don’t want to, because I know that there was someone else behind me. It was God.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) first seen 1973 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Oriana Fallaci (December 30, 1973), The Mystically Divine Shah of Iran (interview), Chicago Tribune
“When you think I’ve been wounded by a good five bullets, one in the face, one in the shoulder, one in the head, two in the body, and that the last one stuck in the barrel because the trigger jammed... You have to believe in miracles. I’ve had so many air disasters, and yet I’ve always come out unscathed – thanks to a miracle while by God and the prophets.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) first seen 1973 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Oriana Fallaci (December 30, 1973), The Mystically Divine Shah of Iran (interview), Chicago Tribune
“Nobody can influence me, nobody. Still less a woman. Women are important in a man's life only if they're beautiful and charming and keep their femininity.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) first seen 1973 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Oriana Fallaci (December 30, 1973), The Mystically Divine Shah of Iran (interview), Chicago Tribune
“What do these feminists want? What do you want? You say equality. Oh! I don't want to seem rude, but ...you're equal in the eyes of the law but not, excuse my saying so, in ability.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) first seen 1973 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Oriana Fallaci (December 30, 1973), The Mystically Divine Shah of Iran (interview), Chicago Tribune
“You've never produced a Michleangelo or a Bach. You've never even produced a great chef. And if you talk to me about opportunity, all I can say is, are you joking? Have you ever lacked the opportunity, to give history a great chef? You've produced nothing great, nothing!”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) first seen 1973 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Oriana Fallaci (December 30, 1973), The Mystically Divine Shah of Iran (interview), Chicago Tribune
“All I can say is that women, when they govern, are much harsher than men. Much crueler. Much more bloodthirsty. I'm citing facts, not opinions. You're heartless when you have power. Think of Catherine de Medicis, Catherine of Russia, Elizabeth I of England. Not to mention Lucrezia Borgia, with her poisons and intrigues. You're schemers, you're evil. All of you.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) first seen 1973 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Oriana Fallaci (December 30, 1973), The Mystically Divine Shah of Iran (interview), Chicago Tribune
“Sometimes they are disserving the interests of Israel. They're pushing around too many people. They have many means at their disposal. They are putting on pressure on many, many people. They are strong. They are controlling many things. Newspapers, medias, Banks, finances... and I'm going to stop there.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) first seen 1976 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Mike Wallace, "The Shah on Israel, Corruption, Torture and …", The New York Times, 22 October 1976.
“A crown, a throne could not be based on the not too very solid foundation of blood.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) first seen 1980 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: David Frost (January 1980), The Shah Speaks (video)
“Who are they to try me? They should be tried first. [They are] people who are rejecting the United Nations resolutions, who are rejecting the Hague Court resolution, who are rejecting the world public opinion, who have no respect for any internation law, and who are massacring people, executing people, just imprisoning thousands and thousands and thousands without any reasons. Who is going to try them?”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) first seen 1980 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: David Frost (January 1980), The Shah Speaks (video)
“It's always a tendency to compare our country in my time to the most perfect democracies of the world. I don't mind that. But now, what we hear is "oh let's try to understand these people. After all, Islam is something special," when what they are doing is absolutely contrary to Islam. Now, everybody is trying to say "well, let's try to understand these people", these people who are killing, massacring others, the people they don't like just like flies. But in my case, it is to compare it to the most perfect government of the world.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) first seen 1980 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: David Frost (January 1980), The Shah Speaks (video)
“You think that Mr Khomeini, [an] uneducated person … could have planned all this? Masterminded all this, set up all the organization? I know that one man alone could not have done it … I know that a tremendous amount of money was spent … I know that top experts in propaganda were used to show us like tyrants and monsters, and the other side as democratic liberal revolutionaries who want to save the country.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) first seen 1980 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: David Frost (January 1980), The Shah Speaks (video)
“... contrary to what many believed, my father was kind and tenderhearted, especially towards his family. His forbidding sternness seemed to melt into love, kindness, and easy familiarity when he was with us. Especially with me, his acknowledged successor to the throne, he would play lightheartedly. When we were alone together, he would sing me little songs; I don't remember his ever doing this in front of others, but when only the two of us were there, he would often sing to me.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I remember that on one occasion Mossadegh swooned in the midst of a speech to our Parliament. When a hastily summoned doctor started to loosen his clothes, Mossadegh instantly revived enough to clap his hand over his wallet. The old hypocrite had not been unconscious at all ; he was merely pretending in the hope of impressing his audience. I think this incident, observed by many, illustrates one of Mossadegh's cardinal characteristics- namely, his insincerity.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I personally object to the veil on aesthetic as well as other grounds; but I must admit that, for instance in the suburbs of American cities, I have often seen women attired more sloppily than our Persian women normally are.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Many Westerners forget that when the Prophet spoke of four wives as the maximum allowable number, he had in mind a reduction to four as compared to the number then often prevailing; moreover, Mohammed specified that a man should acquire more than one wife only if he could treat them all with equal justice - obviously a difficult feat for even the most diligent man to achieve. In effect, then, the Prophet curtailed the number of wives.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is woman's peculiar gifts, as well as man's, which make nonesense of any literal-minded notion of 'equality' of the sexes. Nobody could do greater harm to woman's real progress than to confuse 'equality' on the one hand with 'equality of opportunity' on the other. The Moslem religion and all the other great world faiths teach the complementary relationship of man and woman. They all reject the idea of their being 'equal' in the sense of identical or synonymous. Observation and common sense teach the same truths.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I will frankly confess that I was convinced that God had ordained me to do certain things for the service of my nation, things that perhaps could not be done by anyone else. In whatever I have done and whatever I do in the future, I consider myself as an agent of the will of God.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I wanted to build up Iran while we still had oil and thus to guarantee the life of the country after our oil reserves were exhausted. Therein lay the solution. We had to move fast, we had no time to spare. Finally, it is unquestionable that the oil lobby contributed actively to my downfall.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No people can live in the past - not even in its own past. But if it no longer has a link with its history, it must of necessity perish. Persia, crowded with hardship and glory, ordeals and hopes. With the help of the Almighty, the lessons of the past constitute the best guide for the citizens of the future.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My father loved us dearly and deeply. There were eleven of us and our love for him was full of admiration. We held him in a kind of respectful awe, so powerful and formidable did he seem. I soon learned that beneath the exterior of a rough cavalryman he had a very good heart.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The world petroleum story is one of the most inhuman known to man: in it, elementary moral and social principles are jeered at. If powerful oil trusts no longer despoil and humiliate our country it is not because these predators have become human, but because we have won a hard-fought battle which has been going on since the beginning of the century.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I did not share the enthusiasm of certain politicians for the National Front leader, it was because I had noticed, in the past, some strange contradictions between Mossadeq's declared ends and his actions. Officially he defended nationalist anti-colonialism and was the most intransigent patriot who declared that no concessions or advantages should be granted to foreign powers. He described his doctrine as a "negative balance" and in fact his greatest failing was that he was negative.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Mossadeq, the orator, is difficult to judge as a politician because of the perpetual contradictions between his words and his acts, and because of his sudden changes of mood from elation to depression before one's very eyes. His absolute certainty, violently expressed in hysterical speeches, would turn to tears and sobbing. He had frequent "diplomatic" illensses and he played out macabre comedies in which he would exclaim: "I am a-dying..." and so forth. He has been compared to Robespierre, to Renzi and even to characters from the Commedia dell' Arte.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Nikita Khruschev was a difficult man to deal with, often very hard, always determined. But his peasant side which made him alternatively good-natured and cunning, also made him likeable.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“All ideological differences set apart, I cannot help having a sincere admiration for Mr Brezhnev. He is to all appearances an outstanding diplomat. He abides by the policy of peaceful co-existence as laid down by the Helsinki agreement. And he has succeeded in making his country as powerful as it is today: the first nuclear power in the world, soon to be he first maritime power; as for the land and air forces, their superiority is so great that it bears no comparison.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No doubt history will say that Eisenhower was a soldier. For my part, I will remember, above all, his goodness. He was a fundamentally good man who knew how to be loved by the Americans. I was fond of Ike.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Henry Kissinger is possessed of a truly superior intelligence, in addition to which he has two qualities which, unfortunately, many great men lack: he is able to listen and he has a very subtle sense of humour.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It was always with great pleasure that I met the Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie who had shown great patriotic energy in his resistance to Italy. Our conversations were frank and animated and I occasionally hazarded to suggest various reforms to him. I was a young student when I heard him unsuccessfully defend his country from the rostrum of the League of Nations at Geneva. The League of Nations was powerless and today the United Nations is no more effective. What has happened to Ethiopia?”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am tied by a very solid friendship to President Senghor. He is a statesman of international standing and a remarkable administrator, a master of the French language and an authentic poet. I spoke to him at length about the "negritude" which is a genuine doctrine of cultural synthesis. It echoed profoundly in me since, throughout my life, I have delved ceaselessly back to the deepest and most ancient roots of my own country.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“My friend, Hassan II,... is a sovereign of rare intellectual qualities. He is a descendant of the Prophet and holds a doctorate of Law from the University of Bordeaux and thus, perfectly combines two cultures, the European and the Koranic. It is superflous to add that I pray for him and his loyal people.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As for King Hussein of Jordan, I cannot praise him enough. He is not only a friend, but a brother. His qualities as a man and his goodness of heart are enhanced by great courage and a true love of his country.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Yugoslavia is, with Iran, the only country which under difficult, not to say agonising, circumstances stood up to Joseph Stalin. It was not easy to unite ethnic groups or to modernize a country like Yugoslavia, and it must be acknowledged that Marshal Tito achieved something extraordinary. May God grant that his successors be as capable as he.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I wish to salute the intransigent patriotism and the unflinching determination for independence of the Roumanian president. I was allied to him by a true friendship.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“... I have always endeavoured, as my double duty of believer and sovereign dictated, to follow the precepts of the sacred Book of Islam: precepts of balance, justice and moderation. Although my religious education was very literal, in that I learnt to understand the precepts of the Koran precisely according to the text, we have seen that on several occasions throughout my life, I have felt myself to be very particularly in the hands of the Almighty.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am convinced that the majority of the religious hierarchy today deplores the hardship inflicted on our people. I am referring not only to the martyrs but of the families who have been dispersed and terrified, who have no resources, and to the four million unemployed who are suffering from the economic chaos of a country which only a year earlier was giving employment to a million foreigners. Those who have chosen to serve God must feel profoundly sad at seeing ridicule poured on the most sacred principles of our religion.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I cannot avoid wondering about the feelings of those who are now the apparent rulers of Iran. They are, despite their mistakes and the crimes which they have instigated, men of faith who claim to be sent by God. I hope they will eventually realize that the revolution which they believe they have brought about is not to the glory of God, but serves the forces of evil.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“At no time during my reign were there more than 3,164 so-called political prisoners, most of whom were terrorists. Since February, it is certain that tens of thousands of men and women have been arrested and imprisoned under frequently inhumane conditions.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is a fact that throughout my reign, representatives of the Red Cross were allowed to visit the kingdom's prisons at liberty. Our penitentiaries were open to all official investigators. Every prisoner's lawyer knew the details of the charges against his client, and had time in which to prepare his defence and find the necessary witnesses. Finally, a condemned man had the right of appeal, after which I often exercised my right of pardon. It is no longer like this. The so-called "Islamic tribunals" are an insult to the elevated principles of the Koran.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Since the beginning of 1979, it has often been said that the Shiite religion, like the ephemeral French Republic of 1792 is "one and indivisible". Nothing could be further from the truth. Those in power do not represent the élite of the hierarchy. Narrow-minded and mediocre, they are as far removed as it is possible to be from the noble ideas of the Prophet. They are ignorant of essential political, economic and social realities of the day, but nonetheless they claim to legislate.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Why should we put up with the present evils in our society? As opposed to the society we are visualizing, the present one can be described as a diseased one. The evils are there on all levels, international and national, and even within the smaller units such as towns and families. Of course, the disease did not appear like a bolt from the blue, either yesterday, or last year. It is the result of factors that have deep roots and long lives. These consist of privations, discriminations, oppressions, bigotries, hatreds, and hostilities; poverty, ignorance, hunger, and illiteracy. Each and all of these have been left to us as ar evil heritage from the past. The fundamental difference between our situation today and that of our forefathers is that now knowledge has enabled us to realize that these evils are neither natural nor inevitable in the same way as we have found that cholera or the bubonic plague are not necessary calamities.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) first seen 1968 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Shah's Address to Harvard University - Creation of the Universal Welfare Legion - June 13, 1968
“Once more, the spectre of Cold War is everywhere. Defence budgets, a decimal part of which could free humanity from hunger, disease, illiteracy, and poverty, instead of decreasing, have grown. The gap between 'the haves' and 'the have-nots' is daily widening. Many nations seem to be politically independent but cannot use their independence to deal with their problems or to prosper because foreign influence and interference is still strong. Fratricide and similar savagery in the world sting the human conscience. Racial discrimination a mark of shame on twentieth-century man, although intolerable to most humans can still be seen in various parts of the world. And the power-seeking policies of the strong are hampering the execution of United Nations' ideals.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) first seen 1968 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Shah's Message on the occasion of the 23rd Anniversary of the Foundation of the United Nations - October 24, 1968
“Taking Iran's history as witness, I declare that we, the Pahlavi Dynasty, nurse no love but that for Iran, and no zeal but that for the dignity of Iranians; recognise no duty but that of serving our state and our nation. As the commander of this monarchy, I make a covenant with Iran's history that this golden epic of modern Iran will be carried on to complete victory, and that no power on earth shall ever be able to stand against the bond of steel between the Shah and the nation. We shall never again be caught unawares. The nation and the Imperial Arrned Forces, which come from the ranks of the people and derive their power from our inexhaustible national resources, are alert day in and day out to protect their country. No foreigner or his agents will ever have the chance to penetrate the unshakable structure of our national sovereignty because Iran's destiny is now shaped by Iranians and for Iranians - and this shall always be the case.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) first seen 1976 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Message of the Shahanshah of Iran, Now Rouz, 1976
“In examining any dictatorship, there are two good tests. Firstly, what is the relation between the rulers and the proletariat or common people? Are the rulers members of the proletariat, as they would have you believe? Do they even identify their interests with those of ordinary citizens? The truth seems to be that, no matter where you find them, the so-called proletarian dictatorships are actually controlled by a small elite who ordinarily lose little sleep in worrying about the rights of the common man. Secondly, have the proletariat any effective say in what the rulers do? In the proletarian dictatorships I am familiar with, ordinary people enjoy little or no control over their Government or over their own lives and futures.”
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source