Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged Iranians to continue sending messages exposing the Iranian regime’s brutal crackdown on recent widespread protests that have killed, by some estimates, more than 200 people. He said the United States would impose sanctions on those it could identify for perpetrating abuses.

“The Iranian people are, once again, on the streets because of the regime’s poor economic management,” Pompeo said in remarks to the press at the State Department today. “Instead of addressing their grievances, Tehran has responded with violence and by blaming those outside of the country.”

Despite the Iranian regime's shutdown of the internet last week, Pompeo said the United States had received to date some 20,000 messages, videos and pictures from Iranians through the Telegram messaging service. He said he hoped they would continue to send more.

“The United States hears you,” Pompeo said. “We will continue to sanction Iranian officials who are responsible for these human rights abuses, just like we did last week to Iran’s minister of communications.”