U.S. President Donald Trump said he would not meet Iran’s self-styled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, signalling Washington is not prepared to back an alternative leadership for Iran amid widening protests.
“I think that we should let everybody go out there and see who emerges,” Trump told the Hugh Hewitt Show podcast.
“I’m not sure necessarily that it would be an appropriate thing to do.”
Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s last shah who was overthrown in 1979, lives in the United States and has close ties to Israel. He has positioned himself as a potential leader of a post-Islamic Republic transition.
However, analysts and U.S. intelligence assessments do not view him as a popular figure inside Iran.
Trump on Thursday described Pahlavi as a “nice person” but said it would not be appropriate for a sitting U.S. president to meet him.
Iranian authorities cut internet access on Thursday as protests that began over economic hardship expanded into broader anti-government demonstrations.
Trump renewed warnings to Tehran over its response to the unrest.
“They’re doing very poorly. And I have let them know that if they start killing people – which they tend to do during their riots, they have lots of riots – if they do it, we’re going to hit them very hard,” Trump said.
Pahlavi thanked Trump in a social media post and urged European leaders to take stronger action in support of protesters.
Trump last month also warned the United States would strike Iran again if it rebuilt its nuclear or missile programmes.
