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3. Former Iranian Minister Meets Pahlavi During Protests

Israel Channel 14 reports that former Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif secretly met multiple times with Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during Iran’s recent protests and later briefed Iran’s former President Hassan Rouhani on the encounters.
 
During his 2013–2021 tenure as foreign minister under Hassan Rouhani, Zarif oversaw nuclear negotiations with Western powers that ultimately collapsed, coinciding with mounting political and economic pressure and Iran’s deepening international isolation. He later served in Masoud Pezeshkian’s government as vice president for strategic affairs, but resigned in March 2025 after accusing Pezeshkian of failing to honor pledges to form a more inclusive government.
 

Recent communication with Pahlavi occurred in defiance of the Islamic Republic's intent to maintain the status quo of its rule. Once among the most senior figures in Iran’s ruling establishment, their reported interactions point to deepening fractures within the regime’s upper ranks over the country’s current trajectory. This development sheds light on the question of whether the Islamic Republic will be able to maintain the support of its stakeholders.
 
Zarif and Rouhani are both reportedly in IRGC custody.