President Trump supports ongoing demonstrations in Iran and is open to leveling new sanctions against Tehran, the White House said Tuesday, while blasting Trump's predecessor for sitting by "silently" when similar protests unfolded in 2009.
"We certainly keep our options open in terms of sanctions ... He's going to keep all of his options open in that regard," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters.
Declining to say whether Trump favors regime change in Iran, Sanders said the president wants to ensure that Iranian citizens "are given basic human rights and he would like to see [Iran] stop being a state sponsor of terrorism."
"One of the big things – even Hillary Clinton outlined this – [is that] the Obama administration was too restrained," Sanders continued. "And for once, we agree with [Clinton]. President Trump is not going to sit by silently like President Obama did."
Trump issued a series of tweets early Tuesday about the unrest in Iran, backing the right of its residents to peacefully protest.
"The people of Iran are finally acting against the brutal and corrupt Iranian regime," the president said. "All of the money that President Obama so foolishly gave them went into terrorism and into their 'pockets.' The people have little food, big inflation and no human rights. The U.S. is watching!"
Twenty people had died during clashes between protesters and local police as of Tuesday morning, in addition to hundreds of arrests. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, has cast blame on "enemies of Iran" for sowing discord inside the country.
