White House special envoy Steve Witkoff met privately over the weekend with Reza Pahlavi, the exiled crown prince of Iran, to discuss the ongoing nationwide protests and the deepening crisis in the Islamic Republic, U.S. officials told Axios.
Reza Pahlavi, 65, is the eldest son of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the last monarch of Iran, who was overthrown and forced into exile during the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
Following his father's departure and the abolition of the monarchy, theocratic rule under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was established, and the younger Pahlavi has lived abroad ever since, advocating for regime change and democratic reforms in Iran.
The meeting, the first reported high-level engagement between the U.S. administration and a leading figure of the Iranian opposition since protests escalated, comes amid the largest and most sustained unrest in Iran in decades.
Demonstrations, initially sparked by economic hardship and political grievances, have broadened into widespread calls for the end of clerical rule, with state security forces responding with lethal force, internet blackouts, and mass arrests.
The death toll from the protests is now in the thousands, according to some reports.
Reza Pahlavi has positioned himself as a potential transitional leader, urging Iranians to rise against the Islamic Republic and advocating for a secular, democratic future, although his actual level of support inside Iran remains difficult to verify under the regime's restrictions.
The United States, while publicly condemning Tehran's violent crackdown, has been cautious about overtly aligning with any single opposition figure.
Witkoff's talks with Reza Pahlavi reflect Washington's effort to better understand the dynamics of the protest movement and explore ways to support Iranian civil society amid intensifying tensions.
President Donald Trump has publicly voiced his support for the movement, writing on Truth Social on Tuesday, "Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING - TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!
"Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price. I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY. MIGA!!"
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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