Iran's exiled crown prince to make first visit to Israel

Irans exiled crown prince is scheduled to come to Israel this week on a visit that reflects the warm ties his father once had with Israel and the current state of hostility between Israel and the Islamic RepublicReza Pahlavi the son of the last shah to rule Iran before the 1979 Islamic Revolution said Sunday that he will be delivering a message of friendship from the Iranian peopleHe is set to participate in Israels annual Holocaust memorial ceremony on Monday night said Israeli Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel who will host him He is also set to visit a desalination plant see the Western Wall and meet representatives of the local Bahai community and Israeli Jews of Iranian descent she saidGamliel praised the brave decision by Pahlavi to make what she said would be his first visit to Israel The crown prince symbolises a leadership different from that of the ayatollah regime and leads values of peace and tolerance in contrast to the extremists who rule Iran she saidPahlavi left Iran at age 17 for military flight school in the US just before his cancerstricken father Mohammad Reza Pahlavi abandoned the throne for exile The revolution followed with the creation of the Islamic Republic the takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran and the sweeping away of the last vestiges of the Americanbacked monarchyPahlavi who still resides in the US has called for a peaceful revolution that would replace clerical rule with a parliamentary monarchy enshrine human rights and modernise its staterun economyAlso read Palestinian teen killed in army raid as settlers hold marchWhether he can galvanise support for a return to power is unknown His father ruled lavishly and repressively and benefitted from a CIAsupported coup in 1953 The late shah also had close diplomatic and military ties with IsraelThat ended in 1979 when the Iranian revolutions leader Ayatollah Khomeini declared Israel an enemy of Islam and cut all ties Today the countries are archenemies Israel considers Iran to be its greatest threat citing the countrys calls for Israels destruction its support of hostile militant groups on Israels borders and its nuclear programme Iran denies accusations by Israel and its western allies that it is pursuing a nuclear bombI want the people of Israel to know that the Islamic Republic does not represent the Iranian people The ancient bond between our people can be rekindled for the benefit of both nations Pahlavi said on TwitterThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever