Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, told Newsmax on Friday that the United States should not “surrender to the regime and abandon the Iranian people” as Iran threatens attacks on U.S. bases in the Middle East and the U.S. increases its military presence in the region.
Self, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and chair of its Europe subcommittee, spoke on “Wake Up America” Friday morning as Tehran faces widening unrest and a violent crackdown that has made independent verification difficult because of periodic communication blackouts.
“Iran is weaker than it has been in a long time,” Self said, pointing to what he described as a “12-day war” and to sanctions. He argued that “the protesters get a vote in this” and said he believes demonstrations will continue, even as security forces intensify repression.
Self claimed “probably tens of thousands of protesters are dead already.” Rights groups and activists have reported far lower confirmed figures, though estimates vary widely and continue to change as new information emerges.
U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency has said at least 2,000 people have been killed, while other reporting has described death toll estimates in the thousands and arrests in the tens of thousands.
Self urged the U.S. government to “continue to support them, encourage them and say help is on the way,” warning that the protests could fade as “the brutality ramps up” unless demonstrators see international backing.
He also cast doubt on Iranian government statements, referencing “a concept in Islam called Taqiyya,” which he described as allowing leaders to “lie to us legally.” Self said he does not believe “the killings have stopped,” and he argued President Donald Trump should keep pressure on Tehran even if regional governments prefer restraint.
“This is the best opportunity we’ve had” in decades, Self said, adding that for “45 plus years now, the Iranian people have suffered.” He criticized President Jimmy Carter’s policies during Iran’s 1979 revolution, claiming Carter “personally put the Ayatollah in power by withdrawing support from the Shah.”
In the same interview, Self also weighed in on Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado’s decision to present Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize medallion.
Machado gave Trump the Nobel medal during a White House visit Thursday, according to U.S. officials and Machado, though the Norwegian Nobel Committee has emphasized the prize and laureate status cannot be transferred or shared.
Self called it “very symbolic” and said, “Let’s don’t underestimate the value of a gesture.”
He added, “I think most of the world understands that President Trump has indeed earned that Nobel Prize.”
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Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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