EXCLUSIVE: Dozens of Democratic and Republican members of Congress back Trump administration “publicly condemning the Iranian regime’s violent repression of protesters”

A bipartisan group of lawmakers wants the Trump administration, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in particular, to continue its pressure campaign against the Iranian regime’s brutal crackdown on protesters. The support for Iranian protesters comes at a critical junction in their campaign against their regime, with the Trump administration reportedly weighing a series of military options to help the anti-Ayatollah demonstrators.

In a letter obtained exclusively by the Washington Reporter, Rep. Randy Weber (R., Texas) led 59 of his colleagues in writing to Rubio, noting that “the Iranian people have made clear their demand for a secular, democratic, non-nuclear republic grounded in political pluralism and respect for human dignity.”

President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned the Iranian regime against murdering its own civilians, and yet reports emerging from Iran suggest that upwards of 10,000 have been slaughtered. 

“The Iranian people have made it unmistakably clear that they reject this regime and the system of repression it has imposed on them,” Weber noted to the Reporter. “From mass arrests to targeting hospitals, the regime has shown it will use any means to silence political dissent. The United States must continue to condemn these abuses and stand with the Iranian people as they demand the right to determine their own future.”

Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R., Texas), who has an extensive track record dating back to her time in local office of combatting Islamic extremism, is a signatory to the letter. She told the Reporter that “President Trump’s Peace Through Strength doctrine has already made vast improvements in global security. The movement in Iran is not simply about the removal of an unpopular leader or a corrupt regime — the noble Persian people are fighting for their lives to overthrow a twisted and brutal Islamist ideology they have been forced to live under. God willing, this is the death spiral of the Ayatollahs and the power behind radical Islam.”

Rep. Laurel Lee (R., Fla.), another signatory, told the Reporter that “the Iranian regime is engaging in a deliberate campaign to suppress political dissent through lethal force, mass detentions, and the obstruction of access to medical care—conduct that constitutes clear violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. The United States has an obligation to publicly condemn these actions, maintain sustained diplomatic pressure, and make clear that repression of civilians and abuse of state power will not be tolerated. America must continue to stand for accountability and the Iranian people’s right to determine their own future.”

“We are particularly alarmed by reports that Iranian authorities have targeted civilian sites, including hospitals and medical facilities, denying injured protesters access to urgent medical care,” the lawmakers note. “Such actions constitute serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. The Iranian people have made clear their demand for a secular, democratic, non-nuclear republic grounded in political pluralism and respect for human dignity.”

As a senator, Rubio was one of the leading advocates against the Iranian regime’s repression. And the Democratic and Republican lawmakers echoed his criticisms of the regime in their letter to him.

“Protesters have also explicitly rejected all forms of authoritarian rule,” they added, “whether Iran’s former monarchy dictatorship or its current theocratic system, and seek the right to determine their own future. Recent international reactions against the regime’s brutalities underscore the urgent global concern over continued violence against civilians and abuses of power in Iran.”

They want Rubio, one of the foremost Iran hawks in American foreign policy, to “continue publicly condemning the Iranian regime’s violent repression of protesters, including attacks on hospitals and medical facilities. At this critical juncture, whole-of-government support is essential to reaffirm the United States’ commitment to universal human rights and solidarity with the Iranian people.”

Joining Weber in signing are Reps. Don Bacon (R., Neb.), Andy Barr (R., Ky.), Austin Scott (R., Ga.), Nancy Mace (R., S.C.), Brian Babin (R., Texas), James Walkinshaw (D., Va.), Beth Van Duyne (R., Texas), William Timmons (R., S.C.), Tom Tiffany (R., Wis.), Glenn Thompson (R., Pa.), Tom Suozzi (D., N.Y.), Marlin Stutzman (R., Ind.), Pete Stauber (R., Minn.), Chris Smith (R., N.J.), Maria Salazar (R., Fla.), John Rutherford (R., Fla.), Raul Ruiz (D., Calif.), Zach Nunn (R., Iowa), Donald Norcross (D., N.J.), Jared Moskowitz (D., Fla.), John Moolenaar (R., Mich.), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R., Iowa), Carol Miller (R., W.Va.), Tom McClintock (R., Calif.), Nicole Malliotakis (R., N.Y.), Zoe Lofgren (D., Calif.), Laurel Lee (R., Fla.), Mike Lawler (R., N.Y.), Nick Langworthy (R., N.Y.), Nick LaLota (R., N.Y.), Tom Kean (R., N.J.), Jeff Hurd (R., Colo.), Val Hoyle (D., Ore.), Andy Harris (R., Md.), Brett Guthrie (R., Ky.), Michael Guest (R., Miss.), Josh Gottheimer (D., N.J.), Carlos Gimenez (R., Fla.), Laura Friedman (D., Calif.), Scott Franklin (R., Fla.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.), Scott Fitzgerald (R., Wis.), Randy Fine (R., Fa.), Randy Feenstra (R., Iowa), Jake Ellzey (R., Texas), Danny Davis (D., Ill.), Jeff Crank (R., Colo.), Joe Courtney (D., Conn.), Herbert Conaway (D., N.J.), Mike Carey (R., Ohio), Brendan Boyle (D., Pa.), Mike Bost (R., Ill.), Sanford Bishop (D., Ga.), Gus Bilirakis (R., Fla.), Aaron Bean (R., Fla.), Troy Balderson (R., Ohio), Mark Amodei (R., Nev.), and Rick Allen (R., Ga.).