U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance said Wednesday that President Trump never said the United States seeks to appoint Reza Pahlavi as Iran's next leader. According to Vance, Trump's actual position is that if the Iranian people want to rise up, that is their own affair; what matters to Washington is ending Iran's nuclear program. The comment reframes the president's stance on regime change and clarifies the administration's focus.
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance on Wednesday explicitly denied reports that President Trump had expressed support for appointing Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the last Shah of Iran, as Iran's next leader. Speaking publicly, Vance said Trump's wording was that if the Iranian people want to rise up and revolt, that is their own concern — not that Washington intends to install a new leadership. "What matters to us is ending Iran's nuclear program," Vance added, according to the reports.
The clarification is significant given weeks of uncertainty about the administration's endgame toward Tehran. The vice president's remarks contrast with earlier discussions in some Israeli and Iranian-exile circles that interpreted Trump's statements as a green light for backing Pahlavi's return. As The Zioneer has reported over the past week, the Trump administration has alternated between military escalation against Iranian targets (Trump said on June 11 "we haven't hit Iran hard enough") and public optimism about a nuclear deal — Vance himself said on June 14 that preventing an Iranian nuclear weapon "may require force" but that Washington would succeed.
This latest statement suggests the White House wishes to keep its Iran policy focused on the nuclear file rather than on endorsing specific exiled opposition figures. It remains unconfirmed whether the administration has held direct contact with Pahlavi or other Iranian opposition groups.
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