Senior U.S. Democratic Senator Supports Peaceful Protests in Iran

Senator Ben Cardin, a senior member of the U.S. Democratic Party, has expressed support for the rights of Iranian citizens to engage in peaceful protests. He also reported on efforts to pass human rights sanctions against Iranian officials and institutions. In an interview with Voice of America, Senator Cardin stated, "It is the right of the people to peacefully protest against their government." This American lawmaker emphasized that protests are an internal issue but added that citizens "should be able to express their opinions without fear or intimidation," which is not the case in Iran. He mentioned, "We should all be proud of the courage of the Iranian people." Cardin told Voice of America, "Therefore, we have the right to impose sanctions against Iran for human rights violations." He noted that the United States has previously implemented sanctions for human rights abuses in Iran and can intensify them now. In another part of his interview, he stated that in his view, "turning away from the nuclear agreement with Iran would be a mistake for the United States" and could divert attention from "Iran's bad behavior." Senator Cardin is among four U.S. senators who presented a resolution on January 3 in support of "the rights of the people of Iran" and condemning the Islamic Republic for its "long history of human rights violations." This resolution calls on the U.S. government to work towards holding emergency meetings at the United Nations to condemn ongoing human rights violations by the Iranian government and to design a mechanism to monitor them. In addition to Cardin, Senators Marco Rubio and Bob Corker from the Republican Party and Senator Bob Menendez, another Democrat, were also among the sponsors of the resolution. The U.S. government and several political figures and lawmakers, including Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, have defended the right of citizens to engage in peaceful protests. The Iranian Foreign Ministry has described the statements of U.S. officials as "interventionist." Iranian officials, led by the Supreme Leader, have accused the U.S. and several other countries of being involved in the recent protests. The Iranian ambassador to the United Nations stated during a Security Council meeting that violence in Iran was perpetrated by a small number of protesters, which in some cases led to the deaths of police and security forces and was "orchestrated from outside the country." However, U.S. officials have rejected these accusations. Joel Rubin, Senior Director for Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon at the White House National Security Council, told Radio Farda, "We know, and the leader [of the Islamic Republic of Iran] knows very well, that it is the people of Iran who are expressing their dissatisfaction with their government with their voices, and it has nothing to do with anyone else outside of Iran." Rubin stated that if the leadership of the Islamic Republic "pretends not to hear the voice of its people," this will lead to "more difficulties." The widespread protests in Iran over the past days have occurred in various cities and are considered an unprecedented event in the past decade. At least 22 people have been killed during the protests, and more than 1,800 have been arrested. In this context, a UN Security Council meeting was held regarding the unrest in Iran. The Iranian Foreign Minister's reaction to the Security Council meeting about Iran. The UN's request for an investigation into the deaths and the observance of the rights of those arrested during the protests. Dutch police arrested eight protesters outside the Iranian embassy in The Hague. Four U.S. senators presented a resolution in support of the rights of Iranian protesters. The changing landscape of "proxy wars"; war against the people in the streets of Iran. The Iranian crisis; the responsibility of the opposition and the potential radicalization of Iranian society. The death of the last Mossad representative in Tehran amid the Iranian crisis. Internet shutdown in Iran has exceeded 300 hours; reports of "evidence" of the deaths of injured patients. The death of the last Mossad representative in Tehran amid the Iranian crisis. Accounts from three witnesses about the situation in Isfahan province; "like war-torn areas." Trump emphasizes "stopping executions in Iran": we don't know what will happen in the future. Trump announced an agreement to hold a meeting about Greenland in Davos.