Iran's Exiled Crown Prince Meets Secretly With Trump's Special Envoy

Whitkoff and Pahlavi discussed the situation in the country.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has begun to assess possible ways to respond to the large-scale anti-government protests in Iran.

The Axios said.

The publication's journalists spoke to senior US officials and found out that as early as last weekend, White House special envoy Steve Whitkoff secretly met with Iran's exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi to discuss the situation in the country.

This is the first such high-level meeting between the Iranian opposition and the Trump administration since the protests began, which have been ongoing for more than two weeks.

Axios writes that Reza Pahlavi is trying to position himself as a possible "transitional" leader should the Islamic regime fall. He called on Donald Trump's administration to support the protesters.

Discussing options for supporting the protests

The White House national security team held a meeting Tuesday morning on possible steps to take in response to events in Iran. President Trump did not attend.

Accios source said that at this stage, the US administration is considering mostly non-military ways to support the protesters, and that domestic discussions are at an early stage.

The senior official emphasized that it is difficult to predict what decision President Trump will lean toward and that possible military intervention is not yet under discussion.