Iran could have been ‘S. Korea of the Middle East' but became its North Korea: exiled crown prince

Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran's last shah and an Iranian opposition figure, addresses a press conference in Washington, US, on Friday. (Reuters-Yonhap)

Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the last Iranian king, has drawn attention for comparing Iran’s trajectory to that of two Koreas, lamenting that the country has ended up becoming the North Korea of the Middle East, not the South.

“Iran today should have been the next South Korea of the Middle East. Iran, at the time, had five times the GDP of South Korea. Today, we have become North Korea,” he told a press conference held in Washington on Friday.

The Iranian opposition leader, who has lived in the US since fleeing Tehran in 1978, said Iran missed the chance to become "the South Korea of the Middle East.”

“Not because we don’t have the human resources, not because we don’t have the natural resources, but because we have a governance that doesn’t give a damn about the people and the livelihood that have exploited our nation, and these resources that have impoverished our nation while funding radical extremist terrorist groups and proxies in the region and beyond have outstretched their arms all the way to Latin America,” he further said.

The last crown prince of Iran's Pahlavi dynasty was referring to the demonstrations sparked by economic hardship in Iran that began in late December, which quickly escalated into the biggest threat to Iran's Islamic regime since the 1979 revolution that toppled the monarchy and overthrew Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Reza Pahlavi’s father.

During his speech, Pahlavi also said that Iranians seek peace, stability and improved quality of life through trade and commerce, unlike the current government.

While Iran remains an Islamic republic, some protesters have recently called for the restoration of the monarchy, reflecting growing frustration with the current political system.