President Trump Questions Support for Iranian Opposition Figure Reza Pahlavi

US President Donald Trump. (Wikimedia Commons/The White House/Daniel Torok)

JAKARTA - US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iranian opposition figure Reza Pahlavi "looks very good" but expressed uncertainty about whether Pahlavi would be able to gather support within Iran to eventually take power.

In an exclusive interview with Reuters in the Oval Office, President Trump said there was a possibility that the Iranian clerical government could collapse.

He is known to have repeatedly threatened to intervene to support the protesters in Iran, where thousands of people are reported to have died in the crackdown on unrest against the clerical government.

However, President Trump on Wednesday has not given his 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 will play in his own country," said President Trump, launching Reuters (15/1).

"And we haven't actually gotten to that point yet," he continued.

"I don't know if his country will accept his leadership or not, and of course if they accept it, it will be fine for me," said President Trump.

President Trump's comments further questioned Pahlavi's ability to lead Iran, after last week he said he had no plans to meet with him.

Pahlavi, 65, who is based in the US, has lived outside Iran since before his father was ousted in the 1979 Revolution and has been a leading voice in the protests.

Iran's opposition is fragmented among competing groups and ideological factions - including monarchists who supported the Pahlavi - and appears to have little organized presence inside Iran.

Echoing President Trump's caution, Chatham House's Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme Sanam Vakil said Pahlavi had gained popularity among some demonstrators and had helped mobilize them to some extent.

"But I'm not going to exaggerate," he said.

"It's very difficult to see how much support he has or how much support any figure in Iran has," he explained.

President Trump said it was possible the government in Tehran could fall because of protests, but in fact "any regime can fail."

"Whether it falls or not, it will be an interesting period of time," he said.

Iran has been the scene of widespread protests in its 31 provinces, one of the biggest challenges for the ruling clerical regime in more than a decade, which broke out in Tehran's Grand Bazaar on December 28. The unrest has evolved from complaints about Iran's poor economic situation to calls for regime change.

Iranian government officials have accused the US and Israel of supporting what they call "riots" and "terrorism" amid ongoing protests.

Yesterday, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) confirmed the deaths of 2,403 demonstrators, including 12 children, in its latest statement, quoted by The National.

On the other hand, it is said that around 147 security personnel and government supporters were also killed, as well as nine civilians, bringing the total to 2,559.