WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Iranian government is rejecting allegations that their security forces fired live ammunition into a group of demonstrators protesting against the Islamic Republic’s initial denial that it shot down a Ukrainian jetliner.
This past weekend Iran admitted to mistakenly identifying a plane as a hostile target, killing 176 people.
The president responded on Twitter, addressing Iranian leaders, and said:
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Video verified by the Associated Press News shows crowds of demonstrators in Iran running away as security throws tear gas at them. A woman could also be seen bleeding and crying after being shot.
Some California Democrats said the president needs to have a plan farther than just imposing sanctions and be more transparent. Rep. Gil Cisneros, a veteran, sent a letter to the White House with dozens of other House members, demanding answers on Iran's strategy.
“This foreign policy decision that the president has done is just not working,” said Cisneros. “We’ve seen that when we push Iran into a corner that they react, they attack. They’ve attacked the Saudi airfields, they’ve gone after shipping in the region and now they’ve gone after us launching missiles and they’re going to continue to take action against us. This is where the president really needs to kind of think about what his strategy is going forward and how his foreign policy with Iran is not really working.”
Cisneros said, so far, even with the classified briefing from the White House, there was no hard evidence to show the initial airstrike that killed a top Iranian general was warranted.
The Defense Secretary Mark Esper also said Sunday there was no evidence that American embassies had been under any immediate threat which counters what the president said last week.
President Trump said in a tweet that the sanctions he announced for the region aren’t meant for negotiations with Iran. Instead, he says, he is focused on making sure Iran doesn’t have any nuclear weapons and won’t kill any protesters.