UPDATE 1-U.S. Vice President Pence to lay out Iran policy in speech Monday -W. House official

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence will give a speech next Monday laying out the government's policy on Iran, a White House official said, after the U.S. killing of a top Iranian general sparked protests across the Middle Eastern nation.

Pence will make the remarks at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies' National Security Summit in Washington, and is expected to focus on differences between the Iranian people and their government, the official said, declining to offer further details on content and speaking on condition of anonymity. Tensions between Washington and Tehran have heightened since a U.S. drone strike killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani at the Baghdad airport on Friday.

On Friday, Pence praised the controversial move, tweeting that President Donald Trump "took decisive action and stood up against the leading state sponsor of terror to take out an evil man who was responsible for killing thousands of Americans."