Tom Cotton, a Republican senator, told Fox News: “The people of Iran are the first and the worst victims of the revolutionary extremists who rule over Iran today. They deserve a much better future. If they have one, America will be safer and the world will become a safer and more peaceful place.”

He added: “Just as in the last century we stood against Soviet communism, we must always stand with the forces and friends of freedom; whether a U.S.-friendly government faces an anti-U.S. rebellion, or freedom fighters try to achieve freedom against communist or Islamic dictatorships.”

Cotton said: “Conditions will determine how much we can support them, but as U.S. President Donald Trump said several times earlier this year, help is on the way, and the people of Iran must take freedom and their fate back into their own hands.”