Fox’s Martha MacCallum Wonders if Trump Is Bungling Iran Uprising With ‘Obama-Like Response’
Fox News’ Martha MacCallum asked exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi if President Donald Trump was making the same mistake made by Barack Obama back in 2009 during an interview on Thursday afternoon.
“There is a lot of discussion in the things that President Trump is saying about negotiations and talks with the Iranian leadership. What do you say to President Trump about that suggestion?” MacCallum asked Pahlavi, who replied by praising Trump as “a man of his word” and “man of peace.”
“I don’t think there’s anything left to negotiate other than this time siding with the Iranian nation, with the Iranian people who clearly state that they no longer want this regime, they are rejectful of this regime,” continued Pahlavi. “They hate this regime and it’s the people that — unlike a regime that has chanted ‘Death to America!’ from its inception — actually love America, want to be partners with America, and want to be an element that contributes to regional peace and stability, working together with our neighbors. A completely different picture that we currently have with this regime. This is what’s at stake and I think this president understands this as well.”
Then came the follow-up:
MACCALLUM: The language has changed a little bit from the president, and that could mean that he doesn’t want to talk about potential options that he is still considering, and he wants to hold those cards close to the vest, which I think is very understandable from the president in terms of, you know, maintaining the options that has. On the other hand, I’m hearing that people on the ground in Iran are despondent because they are very afraid that an Obama-like response is happening again. That there’s all this momentum, and that there is a feeling that it is on the verge of collapse, the regime, and that maybe this moment is about to pass the Iranians by again. Do you feel that way? Are you afraid that that is what might happen again?
PAHLAVI: Well, obviously it’s a natural anxiety that anyone that is fighting for freedom counts on a support, especially when it’s announced. So now they’re looking at the action part of it. But having said that, I repeat again that President Trump doesn’t want to be another Obama — to the contrary. So up to that point and until now, we believe that actions will be in some form taken while the president has the prerogative to explore every option, but the best option right now that will save lives, that will provide Iran with true freedom at the hand of a nation that wants to liberate itself and be partners in a free world with the most strongest democracy on the planet, is to put an end to this regime. We have time and again seen this regime reneging on its promises. It’s just buying time, and I think that the time has run out on them. And I hope the president will make the ultimate decision that this is the time to support the Iranian people and freedom. That’s what he has said. That’s what the Iranian people expect. So we’ll see what happens in the next few days.
In 2022, Obama admitted that he had made a “mistake” by not publicly embracing the Iranian Green Movement, which was repressed by the regime in the early days of his presidency.
Earlier this year, Trump instructed Iranian protesters to continue demonstrating and promised that he would come to their aid if the regime clamped down violently. Despite reports that the regime has killed thousands, Trump has yet to take action. He’s also repeated the regime’s claim that it had opened fire because its security forces were being shot at.
“They [the regime] said people were shooting at them with guns and they were shooting back and, you know, it’s one of those things,” remarked Trump last week.
Watch above via Fox News.
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