Ben Rhodes

But just first of all, what is your reaction to what you have seen so far out of Iran?

Yeah, as long as I've known you, you've been like a, it's not an if, but when guy in terms of this regime getting sent packing.

But I mean, how would you compare the kind of scale and the tenor of these protests to say the Women Life Freedom protests in 2022 or the Green Movement protests in 2009?

And also, are you able to be in touch with people on the ground in Iran?

I mean, it might be impossible since the internet's been cut out, but before that, maybe?

Yeah.

And so President Trump has threatened to respond or retaliate militarily if there's a major crackdown on protesters.

It seems pretty clear from reports over the weekend that at a minimum, hundreds of people have been killed by security forces.

I mean, there are these horrifying videos of the morgue stacked with bodies.

I mean, it's just awful stuff.

Yeah.

I'm kind of struggling to understand what an intervention to stop a crackdown on protesters might look like.

I'm wondering if you have a better idea.

And do you think that – I mean it's hard to answer, but the average protester would welcome a U.S.

intervention?

Is it a distraction?

Like how are you thinking about it?

Well, see, it seems like people are doing it with Starlink, right?

I mean, it seems like, you know, sprinkling a bunch of Starlink bases throughout the country.

Yeah.