Speaking with Reuters in the Oval Office, President Trump talked about the situation in Iran, the Russia- Ukraine stalemate and dismissed Republican criticism of a probe of Fed Chair Powell.

Pahlavi, 65, is the exiled son of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran, who was ousted in the 1979 Islamic Revolution that ushered in the Islamic Republic. His name has been a rallying call for protests that started on December 28 and have been met by a violent crackdown that rights groups say has killed thousands.

"The conditions in Iran today are not comparable to those that precipitated the downfall of the Shah and the triumph of the revolution of 1979," writes Narges Bajoghli

Five decades ago, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini became the voice of revolutionary fervour, spurring on demonstrators - even those who wanted a secular system to prevail in Iran. Khomeini's recorded speeches smuggled in on cassette tapes from his exile abroad stoked opposition to Pahlavi's father.

Reza Pahlavi, living in exile in the United States, has long marketed himself as a future leader of Iran. His father’s repressive legacy casts a long shadow.

In 1979, an uprising in Iran toppled the monarchy, ending the rule of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Iran’s last shah was the United States’ closest ally in the Middle East.

In exile for nearly 50 years, Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi has issued calls urging Iranians to join protests sweeping the country. But support for him may not be clear cut.

The son of Iran's late shah said Friday he was confident the Islamic republic would fall in the face of mass protests and called for intervention.