Floor Remarks by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa
Senate President Pro Tempore
“Iran Protests”
Tuesday, February 10, 2026
On December 28 [of] last year, merchants in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar took to the streets protesting high inflation, protesting currency devaluation and protesting a worsening economy in Iran.
Accompanied by frustrations of constant political repression, then, thousands of Iranian citizens [went] to the streets in protest.
So, what would you think? The normal thing in an authoritarian government: these Iranian authorities responded with more repression and violence against their own people, their own Iranian people.
On January the 8th, 2026, the regime also implemented a complete internet blackout. That made [it] obviously harder for Iranians to communicate with one another, and to share evidence of the regime’s abuses with the outside world.
The same internet blackout has made it also more difficult to confirm how many protestors have been injured or killed.
These reports suggest that thousands of protestors have been killed, and more than 41,000 have been arrested. And that happens to be more than double the number arrested in previous protests, the latest in 2022, when Mahsa Amini was murdered and the protests that followed that murder.
The violence and lethal force used against Iranian citizens is alarming, and if you saw it on the streets, on our own television, you would say it’s outrageous.
That’s why I was glad to see President Trump out in front speaking out against this violence and supporting the Iranian citizens who are doing nothing more than fighting for their freedom and liberty.
It was also encouraging to see the Department of the Treasury and Department of State announce [the] sanctioning of Iranian individuals who are involved in the violence against their own people.
So, it’s obvious. The United States is not [the] enemy of the Iranian people.
I stand with the protesters in Iran and will continue to support their fight for freedom, for dignity and for a future free from fear and repression.
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