FOREIGN POLICY/IRAN/PROTESTS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The biggest wave of protests to hit Iran in almost a decade has backed the country’s leaders into a corner, and the Trump administration is increasing the pressure by threatening fresh sanctions if the government forcefully cracks down on the demonstrations.
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, who has been a favorite of the country’s moderates, now finds himself under fire from a young population eager for change. U.S. President Donald Trump waded into that volatile situation on Monday [1-1-28] with a strong statement of support for the protesters…
Unrest spread on Monday through central Tehran, where security forces used tear gas and shows of force to disperse crowds, and unverified video showed protests in other parts of the country, including Shadegan, Abadan and Kangavar in western Iran and Isfahan in the center…
New U.S. sanctions could target the Revolutionary Guard Corps—a force answerable only to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei —in an effort to avoid doing economic harm to the Iranians who are carrying out the protests, U.S. officials said.
The Trump administration is also lobbying nations to support the right of Iranians to carry out peaceful protests, U.S. officials said.”
-Aresu Eqbali, Asa Fitch, and Michael R. Gordon, “Trump Backs Protesters in Iran,” The Wall Street Journal online, Jan. 1, 2017 07:36pm