For many Iranians, one way to hasten an end to the conflict with Israel and the United States is to make specific plans now for what would happen if the Islamic Republic should fall. These “day after” scenarios vary. Yet most present a moral alternative to the current police state in hopes of gaining defections from the regime.
One notable effort was launched last month by the exiled crown prince, Reza Pahlavi. It builds on a budding trend in the Muslim world. Mr. Pahlavi formed a group, led by Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi, to set up rules for a truth-finding commission and other steps to help “victims of injustice, torture, and repression by the Islamic Republic.”
This victim-centered approach has gained traction in several postconflict countries. It is based on the idea that empathy and truth can be forerunners to justice and peace. Syria, for example, has set up a commission on transitional justice following the 2024 ouster of a dictator. That country’s effort is “a constant exercise of dialogue at the community level, at the national level, and at the international level,” Fernando Travesí-Sanz, executive director of the New York City-based International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), told the news outlet PassBlue. “How do we live together after this? How do we continue writing the history of a country in which this doesn’t happen again?”
For the war in Sudan, civil society groups are documenting militia atrocities against civilians in hopes that information will be useful in peace negotiations or assist in recovery after the war. “Despite immense humanitarian needs, victims and civil society have remained steadfast in demanding accountability, placing transitional justice at the center of their struggle,” wrote Ilaria Martorelli of the ICTJ. “They see it as essential to breaking cycles of violence.”
Even in Israel, a tense political conflict over how to hold the government accountable for not preventing the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack has led the high court to weigh whether to set up a state commission of inquiry to help restore trust in government.
The Pahlavi plan for Iran depends on people being willing to balance justice and mercy for those in the regime who have violated human rights, in order to achieve peaceful reconciliation. One model is Colombia’s 2016 pact that ended a civil conflict by giving a formal voice to its victims. It turned out the victims wanted the truth about their lost loved ones more than retribution. The president at the time, Juan Manuel Santos, later said: “The victims have taught me that the capacity to forgive can overcome hatred and rancor.”
For Iranians today, Mr. Pahlavi said, transitional justice is a critical part to create a free Iran. “The truth will be revealed,” he said. “Justice will be served. Light will triumph over darkness.”