Exiled Crown Prince Implores Trump To Follow Through On Iran Strikes

Iran’s exiled former Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi pleaded Friday with President Donald Trump to follow through on his promise to strike the Islamic Republic.

The U.S. should conduct “a surgical strike” on the Iranian regime’s “paramilitary assets” to weaken Iran’s government and its ability to crack down on protesters, Pahlavi told reporters in Washington, where he has made the rounds in recent days to garner support and position himself as the person to lead a transition in Iran should it fall.

Trump has been watching the protests closely and had first pledged “very strong action” should Iran execute protesters. But Trump’s immediate threat appears to have dissipated after Gulf Arab states and Israel have lobbied against military action, at least right away.

“President Trump did say that if the regime was to hit the Iranian people hard, they will face serious consequences,” said Pahlavi, the son of the late shah of Iran who was overthrown in 1979. “The Iranian people have taken him as a man of his word.”

The death toll from the protests has risen to at least 3,400 according to rights groups. Pahlavi cited some Iranian activist estimates that 12,000 people have been killed in demonstrations that began in late December over the collapsing rial and had escalated in recent days to calls for regime’s ouster.

Trump said last week he would not meet with Pahlavi, but Pahlavi met with Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and other Trump officials last weekend, a person familiar with the matter said.

On Wednesday, Trump questioned Pahlavi’s support in Iran.

"He seems very nice, but I don't know how he'd play within his own country," Trump told Reuters. "And we really aren't up to that point yet.”

He added: "I don't know whether or not his country would accept his leadership, and certainly if they would, that would be fine with me."

Trump, Vice President JD Vance and members of their national security team including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Witkoff and adviser Jared Kushner have held calls over the last two days with Israel and Gulf Arab states, who have counseled against striking Iran, according to a person briefed on the discussions who was granted anonymity to discuss the private talks.

The countries share a concern about intractable regional conflict. The U.S. is also worried about Iranian threats to strike American military assets in the region.

Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Turkey in one call told Trump’s team that an attack right now would not change the regime and could potentially drive up energy prices, should Iran respond by blockading the Strait of Hormuz, the person briefed said.

The U.S. is looking to send additional assets to the region, which would give Trump more options. The USS Abraham Lincoln is the only deployed carrier available to move to the Middle East on short notice, since the Ford is in the Caribbean at the tail end of an eight-month deployment, and the Navy's other carriers are under maintenance or preparing for future deployments. The Lincoln, which is underway in the South China Sea, is "likely" being retasked, according to one defense official not authorized to speak publicly.

While Pahlavi hoped in meetings this week with Trump officials and Republican lawmakers to convey urgency, he said Iran’s protesters and opposition would welcome military action at any time.

“Any fight for freedom doesn't have a deadline,” he said. “The only question is, what are the elements that can expedite it?”

An American strike, he argued, would hasten the inevitable fall of the regime and save lives, given Iran’s heavy-handed crackdown on the protests.

Reporting from the ground is limited due to connectivity issues, and the protests appear to have quieted in recent days.

Trump said Wednesday that he had been told “the killing in Iran is stopping,” comments that appeared to tamp down his previous threat that the U.S. was “locked and loaded” and help was on the way for the Iranian people.

Eli Stokols, Daniella Cheslow and Paul McLeary contributed reporting.