“The people of Iran are finally acting against the brutal and corrupt Iranian regime,” said President Donald Trump in tweet posted January 2nd. Referring to peaceful protests that began December 28th in the city of Mashhad, President Trump noted “the people have little food, big inflation and no human rights.”

More than twenty people have reportedly been killed and hundreds arrested as the protests have spread to cities and towns across Iran.

U.S. Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said the United States is “following reports of multiple peaceful protests by Iranian citizens in cities across the country. Iran's leaders have turned a wealthy country with a rich history and culture into an economically depleted rogue state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed, and chaos.”

“As President Trump has said, the longest-suffering victims of Iran's leaders are Iran's own people,” Ms. Nauert noted. “The United States strongly condemns the arrest of peaceful protesters. We urge all nations to publicly support the Iranian people and their demands for basic rights and an end to corruption.”

The State Department spokesperson said that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson “repeats his deep support for the Iranian people.”