President Biden did not say when or how, but say it he did: On Thursday he told supporters that “we’re gonna free Iran” after audience members appeared to call on him to address the ongoing protests that have spread through that country in the aftermath of the death of a young woman in the custody of its security forces.

“Don’t worry, we’re gonna free Iran,” Mr. Biden said in an aside during a campaign rally at Oceanside, California, for Representative Mike Levin. He added, “They’re gonna free themselves pretty soon.”

Mr. Biden did not explain whether his off-the-cuff remarks meant he will begin actively encouraging regime change in Iran or something else.

The president made the comments as supporters in the crowd held up cellphones displaying the message “FREE IRAN.”

The Biden administration has faced growing criticism from Iranian-American activists, who are calling on the White House to abandon its efforts to resurrect the Iran nuclear deal because of the protests.

A top Biden administration official on Monday pushed back. The U.S. special envoy to Iran, Robert Malley, said that the administration “makes no apology” for “trying to do everything we can to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.” The White House has become increasingly pessimistic about reviving the 2015 nuclear agreement but has stopped short of declaring the deal dead.

The White House has faced growing pressure to scuttle the deal altogether following the Islamic government’s crackdown against a women-led protest movement and Tehran’s decision to send hundreds of drones to Russia for use in its war in Ukraine.

Mr. Malley said that lost in the debate is that as the administration has pursued an Iran nuclear deal, it has also continued to pile sanctions on Iranian officials.

The administration announced sanctions against Iranian officials for the brutal treatment of demonstrators following the September death of Mahsa Amini after her arrest by Iran’s morality police. 

Morality police had detained Amini for not properly covering her hair with the Islamic headscarf, known as the hijab, which is mandatory for Iranian women. Amini collapsed at a police station and died three days later.

At least 270 people have been killed and 14,000 arrested, according to the group Human Rights Activists in Iran. Demonstrations have continued, even as the feared paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has warned young Iranians to stop.

The Biden administration has also hit Iran with sanctions for supplying drones and technical assistance to Russia and ordered U.S. military strikes in August against Iranian-backed militias in Syria in response to attacks on American forces in the region.