By Steve Holland
WASHINGTON, Jan 14 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iranian opposition figure Reza Pahlavi “seems very nice” but expressed uncertainty over whether Pahlavi would be able to muster support in Iran to eventually take over.
In an exclusive interview with Reuters in the Oval Office, Trump said there was a chance Iran’s clerical government would collapse, blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for the impasse in negotiations with Russia over the war in Ukraine and dismissed Republican criticism of a Justice Department investigation of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene in support of protesters in Iran, where thousands have been reported killed in a crackdown on unrest against clerical rule. But on Wednesday he was reluctant to give full support to Pahlavi, the son of the late Shah of Iran, who was ousted from power in 1979.
“He seems very nice, but I don’t know how he would play in his own country,” Trump said. “And we really haven’t reached that point yet.
“I don’t know if his country would accept his leadership or not, and certainly if they did, I would be fine with it.”
Trump’s comments went further, casting doubt on Pahlavi’s ability to lead Iran after he said last week that he had no plans to meet with him.
Pahlavi, 65, has lived outside Iran since before his father was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution and has become a prominent voice in the protests. Iran’s opposition is fragmented between rival groups and ideological factions — including pro-Pahlavi monarchists — and appears to have little organized presence inside the Islamic Republic.
Trump said it was possible that the government in Tehran would fall because of the protests, but that, in truth, “any regime can fail.”
“Whether it falls or not, it’s going to be an interesting time,” he said.
Trump, who is in the first year of his second term, sat behind the Resolute Desk and sipped a Coke during the 30-minute interview. At one point, he held up a thick binder of documents that he said contained his accomplishments since he was sworn in on January 20, 2025.
But he tried to manage expectations for Republicans in November’s midterm congressional elections, noting that the incumbent party frequently loses seats two years after a presidential election.
“When you win the presidency, you don’t win the midterms,” he said. “But we will try very hard to win the semi-finals.”
THE MAIN OBSTACLE “ZELENSKI” TO INGESTION AN OFFER
Trump, who has struggled throughout his presidency to end Russia’s war in Ukraine despite campaign boasts that he could end it one day, said Zelenskiy was the main impediment to resolving the four-year-old war.
Trump has frequently criticized both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky, but again appeared more disappointed with the Ukrainian president.
Trump said Putin was “ready to make a deal.” Asked what the holdup was, Trump simply said, “Zelenskiy.”
“We need to convince President Zelenskiy to accept,” he said.
REPUBLICAN LEGISLATORS ‘MUST BE LOYAL’
Trump fired Senate Republicans who had vowed to block Fed nominees over concerns that Trump’s Justice Department was interfering with the central bank’s traditional independence through its investigation of Powell.
“I don’t care. I have nothing to say. They should be loyal,” he said of his party’s lawmakers.
Trump also dismissed criticism from JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon that Trump’s meddling in the Fed could increase inflation.
“I don’t care what he says,” Trump said.
Trump is due to meet with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado at the White House on Thursday, their first in-person meeting since Trump directed the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and took control of the country earlier this month.
“She’s a very nice woman,” Trump said of Machado. “I saw it on TV. I think we’ll just talk about the basics.”
Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize last year and dedicated it to Trump. She offered to give him her prize, but the Nobel Committee said the peace prize could not be transferred.
He praised Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, who was Maduro’s vice president when he was ousted. Trump said he had a “fascinating conversation” with Rodriguez earlier Wednesday and “she was very good to deal with.”
Trump frequently praised the strength of the U.S. economy during the interview, despite lingering concerns among Americans about prices. He said he will take that message with him next week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he will emphasize “how big our economy is, how strong our jobs are, how well we’re doing.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Reuters that Trump would hold bilateral meetings with the leaders of Switzerland, Poland and Egypt during the Davos event.
(Reporting by Steve Holland, Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Ross Colvin and Diane Craft)