Iranian prince in exile Reza Pahlavi spoke at the Black Sea Security Forum in Odessa on May 30, 2026, linking Russia’s war against Ukraine with the repressions and foreign policy of the regime in Tehran. His main thesis was harsh: Russian aggression and Iranian dictatorship can no longer be considered separate crises.
Pahlavi, the son of the last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, stated that Ukraine and the Iranian people are effectively confronting the same logic of violence. According to him, the Shahed drones, which Russia uses to attack Ukrainian cities, were created by the same regime that suppressed protests in Iran and continues to hold power through fear.
Odessa as a meeting point of Ukrainian and Iranian pain
Pahlavi’s speech took place in Odessa — a city that, since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, has become one of the key targets of Russian attacks in the south of the country. That is why his words about the city that ‘looks aggression in the eye’ and does not surrender sounded not like a diplomatic formula, but as a political signal.
For the Israeli audience, this speech has a separate meaning. Iranian Shahed drones have long become not only a Ukrainian topic. The Iranian regime simultaneously threatens Israel, supports anti-Western and anti-Israeli forces in the Middle East, and helps Russia wage war against Ukraine.
Pahlavi formulated this through a simple and strong phrase: ‘Shahed sees no difference between a house in Kharkiv, a commercial office in Dubai, or a square in Tehran.’ In this logic, Ukrainian Kharkiv, the Iranian capital, and regional centers of the Middle East find themselves in the same risk zone.
Why Pahlavi’s words are important for Israel
Israel knows well what the Iranian threat is. But the speech in Odessa added a Ukrainian dimension to this topic: Tehran acts not only through proxy networks and missile programs but also through the export of war technologies that Russia uses against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure.
This makes Russian-Iranian cooperation not an abstract alliance of regimes, but a practical mechanism of pressure on democratic states. Ukraine faces this on its territory. Israel — through regional security, threats from Iran, and the consequences of instability in the Middle East.
Moscow and Tehran as ‘co-architects of chaos’
Pahlavi called Russia and the regime in Tehran not just partners, but ‘co-architects of chaos.’ According to him, both regimes operate in a similar pattern: first suppressing their own citizens, then transferring this model of power outward — against neighbors, democratic societies, and international order.
He reminded that the Russian regime is fighting not only against Ukraine. In a broader context, Moscow acts against democracy, against Georgia, and together with the Islamic Republic — against Syria and Ukraine. Such an alliance, according to Pahlavi, tests the reaction of the free world and calculates the next steps based on how weak or decisive the West’s response will be.
It is here that Pahlavi’s position intersects with the Ukrainian and Israeli experience. Nikk.Agency — Israel News | Nikk.Agency considers this topic not as a distant foreign policy, but as part of a common security line: Iran, Russia, drones, proxy wars, and pressure on the civilian population are much more closely connected than often stated in official declarations.
Sanctions, drones, and the infrastructure of aggression
Pahlavi specifically emphasized that sanctions should be directed not only against political symbols but also against the real mechanisms of aggression. This concerns armies, drone production factories, logistical structures, financial channels, and networks that allow regimes to continue the war.
Such an approach is important for both Ukraine and Israel. If Iran’s drone industry continues to operate, its products may appear on different fronts — from Ukrainian cities to regions where Iranian influence directly affects Israeli security.
Pahlavi also warned the West against negotiations with authoritarian regimes as a universal path to peace. His formula was crystal clear: negotiations with tyrants do not lead to peace, they lead to tyranny.
What lies behind the call not to negotiate with dictators
Reza Pahlavi cited the example of the Soviet Union, stating that previous compromises rather postponed confrontation than resolved it. In his logic, weakness in the face of dictatorships does not reduce the risk of war, but only postpones it to the next stage — often with more severe consequences.
This thesis is especially sensitive for Ukraine, which has been facing the consequences of attempts to ‘freeze’ Russian aggression for many years instead of stopping it. For Israel, it also does not seem theoretical: every round of concessions and underestimation of Iran’s strategy in the region sooner or later returns with new threats.
Pahlavi urged the West to support not only Ukraine but also the democratic opposition in Iran. According to him, the Russian-Iranian threat should be considered as a single problem, not as a set of separate crises.
Who is Reza Pahlavi
Reza Pahlavi is the son of the last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. As a child, he was proclaimed heir to the throne, but after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the monarchy in Iran was overthrown, and the Pahlavi family went into exile.
Today he remains one of the most famous figures of the Iranian opposition. His public position is built around the idea of democratic change in Iran, support for civil resistance, and pressure on the regime, which he considers a threat not only to Iranians but to the entire free world.
The speech in Odessa showed that the Ukrainian war is increasingly becoming a place where different lines of global confrontation converge. Russia, Iran, Shahed drones, Black Sea security, the Middle East, and the fate of democratic movements can no longer be considered separately.
For Israel, this conversation also has direct significance. When Iranian technology is used against Ukraine, and Moscow and Tehran strengthen each other, it is not about a foreign war, but about a system of threats that in various forms affects Kharkiv, Odessa, Tel Aviv, and the entire region.
…
Ukraine is looking for workers, Israel shows a model: migrants cover only 0.1% of market needs - June 5, 2026
- Новости Израиля
Trump promises a finale with Iran: deadline, Pakistan, and a deal that is not yet in place - June 5, 2026
- Новости Израиля
The Kishinev pogrom: In 1903, the central authorities in Russia wanted Jewish blood to be shed, and that is exactly what happened. - June 5, 2026
- Новости Израиля