US envoy Steve Witkoff met with Reza Pahlavi at a time when protests in Iran are not abating and demands for regime change are growing. According to activists, the number of victims exceeded two thousand.
The US President’s special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, met with Reza Pahlavi, the son of the deposed Iranian ruler Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, over the weekend. This happened at a time of escalating protests in the Islamic Republic, during which, according to activists, at least 2,000 people have already died. TASR writes about it according to the AFP agency.
In short:
- The American envoy met with the son of the Shah of Iran
- The meeting took place amid ongoing protests in Iran
- Pahlavi is poised to become Iran’s interim leader
The Axios portal reported on Witkoff’s meeting with Pahlavi, citing an unnamed high-ranking American official. It was the first meeting between a member of the Trump administration and a representative of the Iranian opposition since the protests began two weeks ago.
Pahlavi’s plans
The son of Iran’s last shah previously said he was ready to become the country’s interim leader if the theocratic regime in Tehran were to fall. He also called on US President Donald Trump to intervene in Iran and support the protesters.
Axios points out that the Trump administration initially did not see the crown prince as a major player on the Iranian political scene. According to the source of the portal, however, American officials were surprised when demonstrators in the streets of Iran began to express their support for Pahlavi.
Support and questions
“There has been a rise of Pahlavi. Demonstrations in many cities are chanting his name and it seems to be happening naturally,” the US official said. However, Pahlavi has not lived in his native country for almost 50 years, and Reuters considers real support for the crown prince among the population to be questionable.
Pahlavi’s father Mohammad Reza ruled Iran between 1941 and 1979. He was overthrown by Islamic clerics during the revolution led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. He took refuge in exile in the United States and Egypt, where he died a year later. His government had authoritarian practices and relied on the operation of the dreaded secret police known as SAVAK.
Large-scale anti-government protests
The largest demonstrations in Iran since the turn of 2022 and 2023 were started on December 28 by a protest by traders in Tehran against rising prices and a sharp weakening of the Iranian rial. Since then, they have grown into large-scale anti-government demonstrations across the country, and according to activists, they have already claimed at least 2,000 lives.
The regime’s actions against the demonstrators are criticized by several Western countries. In response, the European Union summoned the Iranian ambassador in Brussels on Tuesday and threatened the country with further sanctions.
