IRAN UPDATE – AT 12:43 P.M. ET:  It is hard to get precise information out of Iran.  The regime is not permitting reporters in who aren't already in the country.  Many internet avenues have been shut down.  But the protests are apparently continuing.  From Fox: 

The growing unrest over the economic woes plaguing Iran turned deadly as two protesters were killed at a rally amid warnings Sunday from the country’s government that anyone who disrupts order and breaks the law “must be responsible for their behavior and pay the price," as President Donald Trump said the U.S. is "watching very closely."

The deaths were the first of the demonstrations, which began Thursday and appear to be the largest to strike the Islamic Republic since the protests that followed the country's disputed 2009 presidential election. 

"On Saturday evening, there was an illegal protest in Dorud and a number of people took to the streets responding to calls from hostile groups, leading to clashes,” said Habibollah Khojastehpour, the deputy governor of the western Lorestan province, according to Sky News. “Unfortunately in these clashes two citizens from Dorud were killed."

Khojastehpour told state television that "no shots were fired by the police and security forces” and “foreign agents” and “enemies of the revolutions” were to blame.

A Revolutionary Guards Telegram channel blamed the deaths on "people armed with hunting and military weapons" who "entered the protests and started shooting randomly toward the crowd and the governor's building,” according to Sky News, adding that six people also were wounded.

Videos circulating on social media late Saturday appeared to show fallen protesters in Doroud as gunshots sounded in the background, although the footage could not be independently confirmed.

The killings came as interior minister Abdolrahman Rahmani Fazli warned Iranians about participating in the protests.

"Those who damage public property, disrupt order and break the law must be responsible for their behavior and pay the price," Sky News quoted Fazli as saying early Sunday on state television.

COMMENT:  Thus far Washington has only issued statements.  The details are not precise, but we must do everything to help the protesters overthrow the regime.  Regime change in Iran would change world politics immediately.  Remember that the people of Iran are largely pro-Western.  The "Islamic republic" was opposed on them by a revolution they didn't control.

What can Trump do?  First, he can express absolute solidarity with the protesters.  Two, he can threaten that there will be serious consequences if the regime cracks down violently on those in the streets.  He can demand that sanctions on Iran be strengthened.  He can show military power, even sending a flight of jets over Tehran, and making it clear they will be used against the regime if the protesters are not granted free elections.

I have no doubt the president is going over his options.  Of course, there is a powerful Iranian lobby in Washington, and some of our European "allies" are doing land-office business with Iran.  There's a lot of money betting on the regime, and Trump has to counter that.

December 31,  2017