Trump ratchets up support for demonstrators in Iran

The Trump administration on Tuesday ramped up its support for the protests gripping Iran and urged other nations to take a stand against Tehran’s violent crackdown on demonstrators.

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Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior Iran analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, which has close ties to the Trump White House, said the Trump administration’s response to the protests has been “spot on.”

He lauded the State Department’s weekend statement singling out the Iranian people as the “longest-suffering victims of Iran’s leaders.”

The administration should keep up that rhetoric, Taleblu said, and impose “smart sanctions” targeting corruption and human rights abuses.

“The key is making sure the rhetoric is matched with the reality on-ground in Iran and backing up the rhetoric with sanctions that support the Iranian people,” he said.

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