February 07 2020
President Trump has tweeted his backing for anti-regime protests in Iran, giving his full support to them, unlike President Barack Obama.
Unusually for Trump, he did not point out that he was reversing yet another Obama policy.
Obama had a very nuanced approach during the 2009 post-election protests. His State Department checked with protest leaders in Iran and was told they did not want outright US support for fear the regime would use any endorsement to tab the protesters as American puppets. So, the Obama White House attacked the Islamic Republic for violence against peaceful protesters while avoiding endorsing the protesters’ political agenda. That earned him much criticism from Republicans who said he had abandoned the protesters, ignoring his critique of regime violence.
Trump has now endorsed the anti-regime protesters outright. But it is noteworthy that the Islamic Republic has responded by attacking Trump—and NOT by saying he showed the protesters to be US puppets.
Here are the full texts of the twitter exchanges between Trump and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenehi. Note that it took Khamenehi six days to respond to Trump’s first message.
Trump on January 11:
“To the brave, long-suffering people of Iran: I’ve stood with you since the beginning of my presidency, and my Administration will continue to stand by you. We are following your protests closely, and are inspired by your courage.”
Trump on January 12—these two tweets were accompanied by Farsi translations, unlike the others:
“To the leaders of Iran – DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS. Thousands have already been killed or imprisoned by you, and the World is watching. More importantly, the USA is watching. Turn your internet back on [it wasn’t turned off in January] and let reporters roam free! Stop the killing of your great Iranian people!” [There have been no reports of any killings in the January protests.]
“National Security Adviser suggested today that sanctions & protests have Iran ‘choked off’, will force them [Iran] to negotiate. Actually, I couldn’t care less if they negotiate. Will be totally up to them but, no nuclear weapons and ‘don’t kill your protesters’.”
Khamenehi on the morning of January 17:
“The villainous US govt repeatedly says that they are standing by the Iranian ppl. They lie. If you are standing by the Iranian ppl, it is only to stab them in the heart with your venomous daggers. Of course, you have so far failed to do so, & you will certainly continue to fail.”
Trump in the evening of January 17:
“The so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ of Iran, who has not been so Supreme lately, had some nasty things to say about the United States and Europe. Their economy is crashing, and their people are suffering. He should be very careful with his words.
“The noble people of Iran—who love America—deserve a government that’s more interested in helping them achieve their dreams than killing them for demanding respect. Instead of leading Iran toward ruin, its leaders should abandon terror and Make Iran Great Again!”