U.S. House of Representatives Passes Resolution Supporting Protesters in Iran

On Tuesday, January 9, the U.S. House of Representatives issued a resolution supporting the protesters in Iran and condemning the actions of the Islamic Republic in suppressing these protests. U.S. media reports indicate that the resolution was passed with 415 votes in favor and 2 against. Mike Pence, the Vice President of the United States, welcomed the resolution supporting the people of Iran and thanked the leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee for its passage. Pence stated, 'Today, the House voted to support the freedom-seeking people of Iran who have engaged in peaceful protests.' Tehran and various cities in Iran witnessed a week of protests against the economic situation and government policies. In these protests, harsh slogans were directed against the leaders and domestic and regional policies of the Islamic Republic, with over 3,700 people arrested and at least 22 confirmed dead. The resolution states: 'We stand with the people of Iran who are protesting against a tyrannical and corrupt government.' The House also condemned the Iranian government's severe human rights violations and the suppression of its citizens. The resolution also calls on the Trump administration to impose new sanctions against human rights violators in Iran. Ed Royce, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, stated, 'While Americans stand with the people of Iran, we must explain to the Iranian people that our sanctions are not against them.' He added, 'U.S. sanctions target the repressive and destabilizing regime, not the people of Iran.' Royce also mentioned, 'Iranians are great people; it was Cyrus the Great who drafted the first declaration of human rights.' The chairman continued, 'In fact, we who now live in free societies owe a great debt to the people of Iran. They are the heirs of Persian culture. The ideas and values that Cyrus envisioned for governance inspired European thinkers during the Enlightenment and also our country's founders, who proposed similar ideas in the U.S. Constitution. Thomas Jefferson himself had two volumes of the Cyropaedia by Xenophon, a Greek historian, about the life of this great king.' Royce also stated, 'The people of Iran must know that they are not alone in their struggle for freedom.' U.S. government officials, especially President Donald Trump, have actively supported the protest movements in Iran from the very beginning and condemned the suppression of protesters by the Tehran government. Washington even requested a United Nations Security Council meeting to discuss the protests in Iran, and Nikki Haley, the U.S. permanent representative to the UN, strongly criticized the Iranian government's actions, stating that the world is watching Tehran's actions against the protesters.