President Donald Trump's personal lawyer and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani told a crowd of several hundred protesters outside the United Nations on Tuesday that he supports regime change in Iran.
"I am speaking in my individual capacity. I am for regime change. Down with the tyrants in Iran. Down with the ayatollah and the mullahs and all the crooks," he told the crowd, referring to Iran's clerical leadership.
The rally on Tuesday, organized by opposition groups in exile and The International Convention for the Future of Iran, took place a day before Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is set to deliver his remarks before the UN General Assembly.
It's one of several high-profile anti-Iranian government events taking place on the sidelines of the UN gathering this week.
At the General Assembly, US President Donald Trump said all nations have a duty to act against Iran and "no responsible government should subsidize Iran's bloodlust."
He said Washington has imposed the highest level of sanctions on Iran and says as long as Iran's "menacing behavior continues" sanctions will not be lifted and instead will be tightened.
He added that Iran's leaders have lashed out at others for 40 years for the problems that they alone have created.
