After three days of protests against the corruption of the regime and religious institutions, US President Donald Trump declared that the world is watching the development of events in Iran, urging that the government respect the demands of the people.
He noted on Saturday that the people want change, adding that “oppressive regimes cannot endure forever.”
Trump posted on Twitter two clips of his speech to the UN General Assembly in September in which he took aim at the Iranian regime, which Washington has held out as its top adversary in the Middle East.
"Oppressive regimes cannot endure forever, and the day will come when the Iranian people will face a choice," he tweeted, quoting from the speech.
"The world is watching!"
"The entire world understands that the good people of Iran want change, and, other than the vast military power of the United States, that Iran's people are what their leaders fear the most...." he tweeted.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's comments in June to Congress saying American is working toward "support of those elements inside of Iran that would lead to a peaceful transition of that government" has been used by Iran's government of a sign of foreign interference in its internal politics.
The State Department issued a statement Friday supporting the protests, referencing Tillerson's earlier comments.
"Iran's leaders have turned a wealthy country with a rich history and culture into an economically depleted rogue state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed and chaos," the statement said.
Iran's Foreign Ministry dismissed the comments.
"The noble Iranian nation never pays heed to the opportunist and hypocritical mottos chanted by the US officials and their interfering allegations on domestic developments in the Islamic Republic of Iran," the state-run IRNA news agency quoted ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi as saying.
The US State Department released a statement strongly condemning the arrest of peaceful protesters.
"Iran's leaders have turned a wealthy country with a rich history and culture into an economically depleted rogue state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed, and chaos. As President Trump has said, the longest-suffering victims of Iran's leaders are Iran's own people," said State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert.
Later Saturday, Vice President Mike Pence added his voice, saying: "The time has come for the regime in Tehran to end terrorist activities, corruption, & their disregard for human rights."
And White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders added: "The days of America looking the other way ... are over."
Trump's posts came as several hundred anti-government demonstrators clashed with police at the University of Tehran in a third straight day of protests.
Videos shared by social media users outside Iran but which could not be independently verified claimed to show thousands marching peacefully against the regime in several cities including Khorramabad, Zanjan and Ahvaz, with chants of "Death to the dictator."
