{"id":702,"date":"2026-01-15T10:58:33","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T03:58:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/?p=702"},"modified":"2026-01-15T10:58:33","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T03:58:33","slug":"exclusive-trump-doubts-reza-pahlavis-ability-to-build-support-inside-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/?p=702","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive: Trump Doubts Reza Pahlavi\u2019s Ability to Build Support Inside Iran","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"
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Donald Trump<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/a> on Wednesday questioned whether Iranian opposition figure Reza Pahlavi<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/a> could rally enough backing within Iran<\/span><\/span><\/strong> <\/a>to eventually assume leadership, even as protests continue to challenge the country\u2019s clerical establishment.<\/p>\n

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Reuters<\/span><\/span> at the Oval Office, Trump described Pahlavi as \u201cvery nice\u201d but said it was unclear whether he could gain acceptance among Iranians at home.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe seems very nice, but I don\u2019t know how he\u2019d play within his own country,\u201d Trump said. \u201cI don\u2019t know whether or not his country would accept his leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Reluctance to Back an Opposition Figure<\/h4>\n

Trump\u2019s comments marked his strongest public doubts yet about Pahlavi\u2019s prospects, coming a week after he said he had no plans to meet the U.S.-based opposition leader. Pahlavi, the 65-year-old son of Iran\u2019s last shah, has lived outside Iran since before the 1979 Islamic Revolution and has become a prominent voice among expatriate critics of the current government.<\/p>\n

Despite repeated statements that he could intervene in support of protesters in Iran, Trump stopped short of offering full backing to Pahlavi, saying the situation had not yet reached that stage.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s opposition remains deeply divided among rival movements and ideologies, including monarchists who support Pahlavi, and lacks a unified organizational presence inside the country.<\/p>\n

\"Exclusive:<\/p>\n

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Possibility of Change in Tehran<\/h4>\n

Trump acknowledged that Iran\u2019s government could potentially fall amid continued unrest, though he cautioned against assuming any outcome was inevitable.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny regime can fail,\u201d he said. \u201cWhether it falls or not, it\u2019s going to be an interesting period of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thousands have reportedly been killed in crackdowns on protests against clerical rule, according to rights groups and international observers.<\/p>\n

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Ukraine and Domestic Politics Also in Focus<\/h4>\n

During the wide-ranging interview, Trump also weighed in on the war in Ukraine<\/span><\/span><\/strong>, blaming President Volodymyr Zelenskiy<\/span><\/span><\/strong> for the lack of progress in negotiations with Russia<\/span><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Asked about stalled peace efforts, Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin<\/span><\/span><\/strong> was ready to reach an agreement, adding, \u201cThe hold-up is Zelenskiy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump also dismissed criticism from fellow Republicans over a Justice Department probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell<\/span><\/span><\/strong>, saying party lawmakers \u201cshould be loyal.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Looking Ahead to Global Meetings<\/h4>\n

Trump confirmed he is scheduled to meet Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado<\/span><\/span><\/strong> at the White House, describing the meeting as an opportunity to \u201ctalk basics.\u201d He also praised Delcy Rodriguez<\/span><\/span><\/strong>, saying she had been \u201cvery good to deal with.\u201d<\/p>\n

The president said he plans to highlight the strength of the U.S. economy at the upcoming World Economic Forum in Davos<\/span><\/span><\/strong>, where he will hold bilateral talks with several world leaders.<\/p>\n

White House officials said Trump will use the event to promote U.S. economic performance while continuing discussions on global security and geopolitical challenges.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Donald Trump on Wednesday questioned whether Iranian opposition figure Reza Pahlavi could rally enough backing within Iran to eventually assume leadership, even as protests continue to challenge the country\u2019s clerical establishment. Speaking in an exclusive interview with Reuters at the Oval Office, Trump described Pahlavi as \u201cvery nice\u201d but said it was unclear whether he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":1,"featured_media":703,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"link","format":"url"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=702"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":705,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702\/revisions\/705"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/al-ahwaz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}