The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it will use Facebook and Twitter to communicate directly with Iranians who are protesting against the Islamic regime in favor of democracy and freedom, hours after Iran’s repressive government shut off access to Instagram and Telegram in an attempt to stifle the uprising.
“We support a freedom of the press,” the State Department said in a tweet. “When a nation clamps down on social media, we ask the question—what are you afraid of? We support the people of #Iran, and we support their voices being heard.”
.@statedeptspox: We support a freedom of the press. When a nation clamps down on social media, we ask the question — what are you afraid of? We support the people of #Iran, and we support their voices being heard. pic.twitter.com/4dG4FlWTMJ
— Department of State (@StateDept) January 2, 2018
According to Fox News, the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Steve Goldstein said the United States will post messages in Farsi on Facebook and Twitter to show Iranians that the United States supports the protests and Iranians in their quest for democracy. Goldstein reportedly said the U.S. is working to enable communication via these two platforms despite the Iranian government’s censorship efforts.
“Even though many social media sites have been blocked, Iranians can reach our State Department FB and Twitter sites, which are in Farsi, through VPN,” Goldstein reportedly said. “We would like Iran to open these legitimate forms of communication.”
Also on Tuesday, Goldstein told the Associated Press that the U.S. wants Iran’s government to “open these sites,” including Instagram and Telegram. “They are legitimate avenues for communication,” Goldstein reportedly said. “People in Iran should be able to access those sites.”
At least 21 people have been killed and hundreds arrested as protests enter their seventh day.
President Donald Trump has vocalized his support for the people of Iran:
The people of Iran are finally acting against the brutal and corrupt Iranian regime. All of the money that President Obama so foolishly gave them went into terrorism and into their “pockets.” The people have little food, big inflation and no human rights. The U.S. is watching!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018
Iran is failing at every level despite the terrible deal made with them by the Obama Administration. The great Iranian people have been repressed for many years. They are hungry for food & for freedom. Along with human rights, the wealth of Iran is being looted. TIME FOR CHANGE!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 1, 2018
Iran, the Number One State of Sponsored Terror with numerous violations of Human Rights occurring on an hourly basis, has now closed down the Internet so that peaceful demonstrators cannot communicate. Not good!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2017
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei also took to Twitter to blame the “enemies of Iran” for the civil uprising:
In recent events, enemies of #Iran have allied & used the various means they possess, including money, weapons, politics &intelligence services, to trouble the Islamic Republic. The enemy is always looking for an opportunity & any crevice to infiltrate &strike the Iranian nation. pic.twitter.com/HIXtudRAue
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) January 2, 2018
The dignity, security, and progress of the Iranian nation is owed to the self-sacrifice of the martyrs. What prevents enemies from exerting their atrocities is the spirit of courage, sacrifice, and faith within the nation.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) January 2, 2018
Iran’s current protests are the largest since June 14, 2009, when Iranians took to the streets to protest the fraudulent re-election of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who won in a “landslide.”
Adelle Nazarian is a politics and national security reporter for Breitbart News. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
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