Marco Rubio doubles down on support for 'courageous' Iranian protesters

Secretary of State Marco Rubio doubled down on U.S. support for 

Iranian protesters on Saturday morning as the current government 

takes a tougher stance against growing unrest in the country.

Iran has been rocked by years of protests, targeting the theocratic 

government that has been in place since 1979.

Citizens have long borne the economic costs of international 

sanctions on the government but took to the streets in December 

when inflation topped 40%.“The United States stands with the

brave people of Iran,” Rubio wrote on social media

at 12:30 p.m.On January 2,

Trump said that “if Iran shoots and kills peaceful protesters,

which is their custom.” Earlier on January 9,

Trump warned Tehran in comments to reporters, 

“You better not start shooting because we will start shooting 

too.”An Iranian rights group said it had documented 65 deaths

as of January 9, including 50 protesters and 15 security personnel. 

The Norway-based human rights group Hengao also reported that more than 2,500 people had been arrested in the past two 

weeks.Overnight, Iranian authorities arrested 100 “armed rioters”

in a town near Tehran, according to the semi-official Tasnim News 

Agency. In a statement broadcast on state TV,

a security force known for suppressing unrest accused terrorists of 

targeting military and law enforcement bases over the past two 

nights.In videos and images that bypassed internet censorship in 

Iran, protesters are calling for the ouster of Iran’s Supreme Leader 

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the return of the exiled son of Iran’s 

last king, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi.Pahlavi lives in Virginia 

and supports the protesters. Less than an hour before

Rubio’s post, he wrote on social media: “Our goal now is not

just to take to the streets; the goal is to prepare to occupy the

centers of the cities and hold them.”“I am also preparing to return

to my homeland so that when our national revolution triumphs,

I can be with you, the great Iranians,” Pahlavi wrote.

“I believe that day is very close.”Khamenei on January 9

accused the protesters of acting on Trump's behalf, saying

rioters were attacking public property and warned that

Tehran would not tolerate people acting as "foreign mercenaries." 

The leaders of France, Britain and Germany also issued a joint 

statement condemning the killing of protesters.