Vice President Pence is taking a lead in the administration’s support for Iranian democracy protesters, a battle he has championed for nearly a decade and rapped former President Obama on when his team stayed neutral on Tehran’s brutal crushing of dissent.

“As long as @RealDonaldTrump is POTUS and I am VP, the United States of America will not repeat the shameful mistake of our past when others stood by and ignored the heroic resistance of the Iranian people as they fought against their brutal regime,” he tweeted Monday as reports rolled in about the deaths of protesters.

“The bold and growing resistance of the Iranian people today gives hope and faith to all who struggle for freedom and against tyranny. We must not and we will not let them down,” he added.

Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations echoed that call Tuesday. “All freedom-loving people must stand with their cause. The international community made the mistake of failing to do that in 2009. We must not make that mistake again,” she said in a swipe at Obama.

Pence has been all in on the side of democracy protesters since 2009 when, as a House GOP leader, he cosponsored a bipartisan resolution expressing support for “all Iranian citizens who embrace the values of freedom, human rights, civil liberties, and rule of law.”

At the time, he also stepped up his criticism of Obama, saying on CNN, “I respectfully disagree with the administration's decision to essentially draw the line at not meddling and not interfering.”

Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com