US Presidential Special Envoy Steve Witkoff met secretly with exiled former Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi over the weekend. This is reported by Axios with reference to a senior US official.
The publication notes that this was the first high-level meeting between the Iranian opposition and President Donald Trump’s administration since the protests began.
Pahlavi-the son of the Shah, who was overthrown during the 1979 Islamic Revolution-heads the opposition faction while in the United States. He is trying to position himself as a “transitional” leader in the event of a regime collapse.
The White House national security team met Tuesday morning on options for responding to the protests. President Trump did not attend.
A senior US official told Axios that the administration’s discussions are at a relatively early stage. According to a source with direct knowledge of the situation, Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently said in closed-door meetings that at this stage the administration is considering non-kinetic response methods to help the protesters.
Mass protests in Iran began on 28 December 2025 amid an economic crisis, a collapsing currency and rising inflation. Before the internet shutdown, it was reported that the protests had spread to about 120 cities. Authorities are trying to crack down hard on the demonstrations by using weapons.
Human rights groups say Iranian authorities have violently suppressed the demonstrations, which have left more than 600 people dead. Reuters, citing an unnamed official, reported about 2,000 dead.
The number of people arrested is estimated at more than 10,000.