The Islamic Republic of Iran’s theocratic dictatorship has, so far, murdered at least 2,400 protestors. That is the latest report from human rights groups monitoring the situation. This is on top of the expected execution of 26-year-old Erfan Soltani for the crime of exercising his right to protest peacefully.

As previously stated in my piece, “In praise of destabilising tyranny“, it has been incredibly encouraging to see and hear Ed Davey be so vocal about his support for the Iranian protestors, as well as hearing the UK government voice its support and Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, too. This is an issue that transcends political boundaries and strikes at the heart of our principles: democracy, human rights, and freedom.

It is with that same sentiment that I believe, on the matter of Iran, Donald Trump is right to strongarm the theocratic regime into backing down on executing citizens, and openly supporting Iranian citizens.

A jarring statement, for sure. There is so much that Trump has done and is doing that is beyond contempt, and he is by no means a good man. But multiple moralities can co-exist in the same space: Trump is wrong for his desire to capture Greenland, his isolationist approach to handling Venezuela, his appeasement of Russia, his multiple felonies, on top of literally everything else he has said and done. But on this particular issue, when it comes to tackling the Ayatollah’s dictatorship, he is right, and we would be right to stand with him.

His reasoning may well differ from ours, as would his approach to confronting the theocratic dictatorship. His worldview, on the whole, does not align with ours. But the facts remain the same: a dictatorship is murdering protestors for speaking up against the regime. Human rights are being disregarded and treated as obstacles to overcome. If we genuinely believe in maintaining a liberal world order, one where those rights mean something, then we must support the fight against the Ayatollah.

Let me repeat what I have said above: multiple moralities can co-exist in the same space. Maintaining a liberal world order also means opposing our allies when necessary. Trump’s actions in Venezuela, although I will shed no tears over the capture of Maduro or the fall of his regime, completely undermine international cooperation and jeopardise post-Maduro rebuilding plans for the country (on the surface, unless it is revealed there is in fact a plan to rebuild, which the failure to release that information to allies equally undermines cooperation). His approach to Greenland, threatening a fellow NATO member, is disgraceful, and he should be held accountable for it. His contempt for US-EU relations does nothing but bolster the resolve of rogue states like Russia.

And yet, despite all this, he is completely right on Iran.

Liberal internationalism cannot be defined by the notion of “we’ll never work with X”, especially if X is a fellow liberal democracy. The one thing dictatorships fear most is democracies working together for the common good, and that is what opposing Iran is. If we genuinely believe in it, then we must embrace all its facets, even those we disagree with.

* Jack Meredith is a member of the Welsh Liberal Democrats and an active campaigner and canvasser with Swansea and Gower Liberal Democrats. His writing focuses on democratic reform, social justice, trade unionism, economic democracy, and the institutional foundations of effective government. He has written for the Fabians, Lib Dem Voice, Liberator, Nation Cymru, Bylines Cymru, and Centre Think Tank.