Dem lawmaker: Trump response to Iran protests ‘OK’ so far

Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) on Sunday said the Trump administration’s response to civilian protests in Iran has been “OK,” but added that the United States must not appear to be the source of the demonstrations.

“To my knowledge, thus far, the Trump administration [response] is basically three tweets over three days. That’s OK, that’s good. More than that, be very careful. Let it be organic,” Garamendi said on CNN.

Protesters have taken to the streets for each of the last four days throughout the country to protest economic hardships and alleged government corruption.

{mosads}Some protesters in the country’s capital reportedly chanted “death to Rouhani,” referring to Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, and “death to the dictator,” referring apparently to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

President Trump on Friday tweeted his support for the protests, adding that “the world is watching.” The Iranian government swiftly condemned the president’s remarks, calling them “deceitful and opportunist.”

Garamendi on Sunday defended former President Obama’s administration for not being as vocal in its support for Iranian protesters in 2009, saying the situation had to be handled differently since Iran was “quickly developing a nuclear weapon.”

He said the U.S. government’s policy should always be to support democracy. 

“I do think that the policy of the American government ought to always be one for democracy, for freedom of speech, for freedom of demonstration and freedom of the press,” Garamendi said. 

“We should be supporting that in every way possible. We have to be very careful that these demonstrations do not become an American demonstration, that is, one that’s being caused by the United States. That would, I think, be a very serious problem,” he continued.