US Senator Mark Warner voiced support for Iranian protesters but raised doubts about President Donald Trump’s intervention threats toward Tehran.
“I think it's extraordinary, the courage of the Iranian people, their willingness to go to the streets to ask for a better life. And I am concerned that the regime, as we've seen in past protests, may use violence to quell these demonstrations,” Senator Warner told Iran International on Monday.
“We've seen this repeatedly, after the brutal killing of the young woman a few years ago, and then even before that, the so‑called Green Revolution. So my heart is with the Iranian people; how we can also then lend them more than verbal support is something that we've got to look at,” the Democratic senator from Virginia added.
Asked about the threats issued by President Trump, Senator Warner said Iranians want a different government and will show it at the ballot box when given a chance.
“I think the Iranian people would love to see a different government. Whenever they've had a chance to vote, they've tended to vote for more progressive candidates within their system, which is not that progressive. But again, I don't think President Trump got elected on the basis that he was going to stop American foreign interventions; he seems to be doing the opposite.”