The Trump administration has thrown the weight of the U.S. government behind the protesters taking to the streets of Iran.

President Donald Trump is rooting them on despite the risk of helping Iranian authorities dismiss the demonstrations as the product of American instigation.

He declared Tuesday it was "time for change" in Iran. At the United Nations, Ambassador Nikki Haley sought a Security Council meeting to show support for those protesting.

Iran's government blamed the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Britain for the protests.

The supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Iran's enemies were using money, weapons, politics and spies "to create problems for the Islamic system, the Islamic Republic and the Islamic Revolution."

Trump was undeterred, praising Iranians for "finally acting against the brutal and corrupt Iranian regime."