Mourning turns to protests in Tehran. Image via AFP.
Sun 12 January 2020:
Protests broke out after Tehran admitted to shooting down a passenger plane. Iran said earlier it unintentionally downed a Ukrainian jetliner outside Tehran, killing all 176 people aboard, in an abrupt about-turn after initially denying Western claims it was struck by a missile. The firing came shortly after Iran launched missiles at bases in Iraq housing American forces.
President Hassan Rouhani said a military probe into the tragedy had found “missiles fired due to human error” brought down the Boeing 737, calling it an “unforgivable mistake.”
At a student protest to pay tribute to the crash victims on Saturday, Iranian authorities briefly detained Britain’s ambassador, in what the British government called a violation of international law. He was later released.
The new demonstrations follow an Iranian crackdown on street protests that broke out in November. Amnesty International has said it left more than 300 people dead.
Internet access was reportedly cut off in multiple Iranian provinces ahead of memorials planned a month after the protests.
Jan 11 – Tehran, #Iran
Protesters chant against Qassem Soleimani & @khamenei_ir.“Soleimani is a murderer and so his leader!”#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/GnvITRaKpj
— Heshmat Alavi (@HeshmatAlavi) January 11, 2020
Students at Amir Kabir University in Tehran chant against Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei calking him a killer who can not lead. #IranPlaneCrash ✈️ pic.twitter.com/pbkqzBy5sn
— Negar Mortazavi (@NegarMortazavi) January 11, 2020
BREAKING:
Public mourning gatherings turn into protests in #Iran. Angry crowds chanting, “Death to the liars.”#IranPlaneCrash #UkrainePlaneCrash pic.twitter.com/20jPNia6WJ— Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) January 11, 2020
#IranPlaneCrash #IranProtests
Protestors screaming for Khamenei to resign.
Chants, “All these years of crimes, Death to the Supreme Leader.” pic.twitter.com/uL9DM6Xu75— Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) January 11, 2020
#IranProtests
Rasht. Crowd tells Security Forces, “Get lost mercenary.” pic.twitter.com/lETTLjehWV— Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) January 12, 2020
To certain DC politicians & MSM who glorify Soleimani & describe him as a “popular general,” a “divine” figure & a “national war hero,” watch how people in #Iran tear apart a poster of his image along with the regime’s dictator @khamenei_ir.
MIC DROP!pic.twitter.com/ZYhLb8b6i2
— Heshmat Alavi (@HeshmatAlavi) January 11, 2020
Jan 11 – Tehran, #Iran
Hafez Bridge
Massive crowd chanting, “Death to the liar!”
This follow the regime’s three-day denial & finally acknowledging the IRGC shooting down the Ukraine airliner with a SAM missile.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/lhVumbjugW— Heshmat Alavi (@HeshmatAlavi) January 11, 2020
Isfahan, central #Iran
Protesters chant, “Khamenei open your ears; we’re the nation, not thugs” referring to the regime’s supreme leader calling protesters thugs and troublemakers. #IranProtests pic.twitter.com/ZCLQj9MJqe— Iran News Wire (@IranNW) January 11, 2020
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has demanded that Iran provide “full clarity” on the downing of the plane. Ottawa says the dead included 57 Canadians.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also offered his condolences and ordered the armed forces to address “shortcomings” so that such a disaster does not happen again.
Tehran’s acknowledgement came after officials in Iran denied for days Western claims that the Ukraine International Airlines plane had been struck by a missile in a catastrophic error.
The Kiev-bound jet slammed into a field shortly after taking off from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport on Wednesday.
The crash came hours after Tehran launched missiles at bases hosting American forces in Iraq in response to the killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a US drone strike.
Fears grew of an all-out war between Iran and its arch-enemy the United States, but those concerns have subsided after Trump said Tehran appeared to be standing down after targeting the US bases.
President Trump told Iranians — in tweets in both English and Farsi — that he stands by them and is monitoring the demonstrations.
“To the brave, long-suffering people of Iran: I’ve stood with you since the beginning of my Presidency, and my Administration will continue to stand with you,” he tweeted.
“There can not be another massacre of peaceful protesters, nor an internet shutdown. The world is watching,” he added, apparently referring to an Iranian crackdown on street protests that broke out in November.
“We are following your protests closely, and are inspired by your courage,” he said.
– Protesters ‘dispersed’ –
On Saturday evening, police dispersed students who had converged on Amir Kabir University in Tehran to pay tribute to the victims, after some among the hundreds gathered shouted “destructive” slogans, Fars news agency said.
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said UK envoy Rob Macaire had been detained.
“The arrest of our ambassador in Tehran without grounds or explanation is a flagrant violation of international law,” Raab said in a statement. The US called on Iran to apologize.
Iran’s Tasnim News Agency, which is close to the country’s conservatives, said the envoy had been “provoking radical acts” among students. He was released a few hours later and would be summoned again by Iranian officials on Sunday, it said.
State television reported that students shouted “anti-regime” chants, while Fars reported that posters of Soleimani had been torn down.
The aerospace commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards accepted full responsibility for Wednesday’s accident.
But Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh said the missile operator acted independently, targeting the 737 after mistaking it for a “cruise missile”.
The operator failed to obtain approval from his superiors because of disruptions to a communications system, he said.
“He had 10 seconds to decide. He could have decided to strike or not to strike and under such circumstances, he took the wrong decision.”
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