Brian Hook: Khamenei Called Iranian People Thugs, But He Actually Described His Own Regime

Brian Hook, U.S. State Department Special Representative to Iran, reiterated American government support for the Iranian people by praising their protests against “corruption and human rights violations” by the Islamic Republic regime.

In a video message posted on Tuesday, November 19th on the U.S. State Department’s Twitter account, Brian Hook stated that the United States supports the efforts of the Iranian people for a better future, while strongly condemning the Islamic Republic’s violence and particularly the Revolutionary Guards’ threats against the people.

A message to the Iranian people from U.S. Special Representative to Iran Brian Hook. #IranProtests pic.twitter.com/UkCuJtclVz

— Department of State (@StateDept) November 19, 2019

He said: “Khamenei has called the Iranian people thugs; Khamenei has actually described his own regime, not those courageous Iranians whose voices have risen in protest against his actions.”

Mr. Hook added: “The Revolutionary Guards threatened in a statement that they will deal with those who disrupt the security and peace of the people. The irony is that no one disrupts the security and peace of the people more than the Revolutionary Guards.”

He then referred to Iranians’ struggle for religious freedoms and their fight against mandatory hijab, stating that the United States believes in the Iranian people’s struggle for their basic rights and supports their fight against the “corrupt religious mafia.”

Brian Hook, referring to the designation of a day as Iran-America Friendship Day at the suggestion of Sattar Beheshti’s mother and President Trump’s executive order to prevent regime officials from entering America following Iranian requests, said: “We still hold the keys to Iran’s embassy in Washington and eagerly await the day we can hand it over to a government that is a true representative of the Iranian people.”

In recent days, the U.S. State Department and several members of Congress have expressed concern about the suppression of protesters in Iran and the nationwide internet shutdown.

The White House also condemned on Sunday in a statement the use of deadly force against protesters and the severe restriction of people’s communications.

At the same time, some Western countries have also reacted to these protests and crackdowns. For instance, Germany called on the Islamic Republic to respect the legitimate protests of demonstrators in Iran and engage in dialogue with them. On the other hand, U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by phone, with Iranian protests being one of the topics of their conversation.

New Wave of Protests in Iran

Protests over gasoline prices began on Friday, November 15th, following the sudden announcement of a tripling of free-market gasoline prices in various Iranian cities. However, the protesters’ slogans quickly shifted to target senior Islamic Republic officials.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in his initial response to the widespread protests in Iran on Saturday, November 16th, while reposting his tweet from a year and a half earlier, addressed the Iranian people saying that the United States is by your side.

The Islamic Republic shut down the internet on Saturday night in major cities, and Morgan Ortagus, spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department, responding to this action by the Iranian regime, said: “We condemn efforts to shut down the internet. Let them speak!”

America says the Islamic Republic spends its national wealth on supporting terrorist groups and destabilizing the Middle East instead of helping its people.

The United States has repeatedly condemned institutionalized financial corruption and the plundering of Iran’s natural resources by regime officials and has identified them as among the main factors in Iran’s economic and financial problems. Recently, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted about Islamic Republic officials, saying they have engaged in corruption instead of helping people.

Source: Voice of America