By Steve Holland
WASHINGTON, Jan 14 (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iranian opposition figure Reza Pahlavi “looks very nice” but expressed uncertainty about whether Pahlavi would be able to rally support in Iran to eventually take over.
In an exclusive Reuters interview in the Oval Office, Trump said there is a chance the Iranian clerical government could collapse, blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for the stalemate in negotiations with Russia over the war in Ukraine, and rejected Republican criticism of a Justice Department probe of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene in support of protesters in Iran, where thousands of people have reportedly been killed in a crackdown on unrest against clerical rule. But on Wednesday he was reluctant to give his full support to Pahlavi, the son of the late shah of Iran, who was ousted from power in 1979.
“He looks very nice, but I don’t know how he plays in his own country,” Trump said. “And we really are not at that point yet.
“I don’t know if his country will accept his leadership or not, and certainly if it did, that would be good for me.”
Trump’s comments went further when he questioned Pahlavi’s ability to lead Iran after saying last week that he had no plans to meet with him.
The US-based Pahlavi, 65, has been living outside Iran since before his father was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution and became a prominent voice in the protests. Iran’s opposition is fragmented among rival groups and ideological factions – including monarchists who support Pahlavi – and appears to have little organized presence inside the Islamic Republic.
Trump said that it is possible that the government in Tehran could fall due to the protests but that in truth “any regime can fail”.
“Whether it falls or not, it will be an interesting period of time,” he said.
Trump, who is in the first year of his second term, sat behind his large Resolute desk and sipped Diet Coke during the 30-minute interview. At one point, he held up a thick binder of papers which he said contained his achievements since he was sworn into office on January 20, 2025.
But he sought to manage expectations for Republicans in November’s congressional midterm elections, noting that the party in power often 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 hard to win the midterms.”
‘ZELENSKIY’ MAIN IMPEDIMENT TO ACHIEVE THE AGREEMENT
Trump, who has struggled throughout his presidency to end Russia’s war in Ukraine despite campaign boasts that he could end it in a day, said Zelenskiy is the main impediment to resolving the four-year-old war.
Trump has frequently criticized both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskiy but has appeared more scathing once again on the Ukrainian President.
Trump said Putin is “ready to make a deal.” Asked what the hold up is, Trump said simply: “Zelenskiy.”
“We have to get President Zelenskiy to go along with it,” he said.
Republican LAWS ‘SHOULD BE LOYAL’
Trump has fired Senate Republicans who have vowed to block his Fed nominees over concerns that Trump’s Justice Department is encroaching on the central bank’s traditional independence with its Powell probe.
“I don’t care. There is nothing to say. They must 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 Thursday with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado at the White House, their first in-person meeting since Trump directed the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and seized control of the country earlier this month.
“She’s a very nice woman,” Trump said of Machado. “I saw it on television. I think we will only talk about basic things.”
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 that the peace prize cannot be transferred.
He praised Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, who was Maduro’s vice president when he was ousted. Trump said he had a “fascinating talk” with Rodriguez earlier on Wednesday and “she was very good to deal with.”
Trump frequently praised the strength of the US economy during the interview despite lingering worries among Americans about prices. He said he will carry that message with him next week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he will emphasize “how great our economy is, how strong our job numbers are, how well we’re doing.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Reuters that Trump will have bilateral meetings with the leaders of Switzerland, Poland and Egypt while at the Davos event.
(Reporting by Steve Holland, Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Ross Colvin and Diane Craft)