In an interview with Newsweek, Prince Reza Pahlavi said Iranians understand Trump’s sanctions on the Islamic Republic, and that Obama’s nuclear deal was a disaster.

Mr. Pahlavi told Newsweek: These protests represent a rejection of the regime as a whole and communicate a desire to end forty years of clerical oppression. All one has to do to understand this is to listen to my compatriots in the streets.

“They do not chant for reforms, or about fuel prices, they chant, "We don't want the Islamic Republic!" and, "Khamenei, get out of the country!" and by the hundreds, they are giving their lives for the cause of freedom,” he continued.

On President Trump’s maximum pressure strategy on Iran, Prince Reza Pahlavi said: “To the extent that the sanctions limit or reduce the regime's resources from being used for such actions, this is something the people of Iran understand and appreciate. Iranians realize that they are first and foremost under maximum pressure socially, politically and economically from the Islamic regime itself. The people don't chant in the streets against sanctions, they chant against this regime in hundreds of cities across the country.”

He added: “Do not try to engage this regime. The previous administration made this mistake to disastrous effect for the Iranian people and for the region. Instead, engage the Iranian people and the secular democratic opposition.”

Prince Reza Pahlavi concluded: “The problem is not that the regime has not changed its behavior, because it never will, but rather that the world has not changed its behavior looking to appease this regime.