Axios: Steve Witkoff secretly met with the son of the deposed Shah of Iran over the weekend
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff secretly met with the son of the deposed Shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, over the weekend, Axios reported.
US President Donald Trump has announced that he has canceled all meetings with Iranian officials until the killing of protesters stops, calling on protesters to continue demonstrations, and “help is coming”.
Reza Pahlavi, the son of the Shah of Iran, who was ousted during the 1979 revolution, urged the United States to take urgent action as protests continue in Iran, with the aim of accelerating the fall of the current leadership.
Pahlavi called for urgent action, suggesting that early US intervention could reduce the number of casualties and accelerate the fall of Iran’s current leadership.
“The best way to ensure that fewer people are killed in Iran is to intervene sooner, so that this regime finally collapses,” Pahlavi said in an interview with CBS News on Monday, noting that US President Donald Trump has to make a decision very soon.
He said he had reached out to the US administration but did not disclose details.
The protests in Iran began in late December 2025 due to a sharp devaluation of the local currency, the Iranian rial, with the main topic being sharp fluctuations in the exchange rate and their direct impact on wholesale and retail prices, and videos circulating on social media showing gatherings of protesters in Tehran and other cities.
The protests saw a marked escalation starting on January 8, coinciding with calls from Reza Pahlavi, the son of the Shah of Iran who was overthrown in 1979, and on the same day internet service was shut down in large parts of the country.
In several Iranian cities, peaceful protests turned into confrontations with police forces, with demonstrators raising slogans against the ruling political system.
There were reports of deaths on both sides, between security forces and those involved in the unrest.
