A group of Iranian protesters demanded Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei step down on Saturday after Tehran said that its military had mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian plane, killing all 176 people on board.
“Commander-in-chief [Khamenei] resign, resign,” videos posted on Twitter showed hundreds of people chanting in front of Tehran’s Amir Kabir university.
— Alireza Azami (@Alireza__Azami) January 11, 2020
This is the first protest since the assassination of IRGC Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani. Last November, hundreds were killed in protests in multiple cities across the Islamic Republic.
In videos circulating on social media in November, demonstrators in western Iran and in the republic’s capital were seen chanting “Death to Khamenei!” Iranian authorities shut off the internet across the country, blocking communications in preparation for expected protests.
Saudi news agency Al Arabia reported that the republic’s security forces confronted the protesters across the state. Videos showing the forces launching tear gas toward the protesters emerged. Users on social media also reported the presence of armed forces. An attempt to renew protests in December was shut down with no known casualties.
The concealment of the Ukrainian jet downing by the Iranian authorities raised questions among the republic’s citizens, leading to the renewal of the protests.
— Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) January 11, 2020
“They were so careful not to kill any American in their revenge for Soleimani. But they did not close the airport? This shows how much this regime cares for Iranians,” said Iranian citizen Mira Sedaghati after the Iranian military admitted mistakenly shooting down the jet.
“This is not human error. This is a crime against humanity,” said exiled Persian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi on Saturday. “He who has irresponsibly empowered his thugs to fire at will at innocents bears full responsibility. #Enough_is_enough. Khamenei and his regime must go.”
This is not human error. This is a crime against humanity. He who has irresponsibly empowered his thugs to fire at will at innocents bears full responsibility. #Enough_is_enough. Khamenei and his regime must go. https://t.co/DuZkB5TlGo— Reza Pahlavi (@PahlaviReza) January 11, 2020
In an earlier tweet, Pahlavi, a self-described advocate for human rights and secular democracy, said that “unfortunately, death has overshadowed our country. A government that cannot handle a funeral has cheapened death,” he said on Thursday. “Our task is to combat the normalization of death.”
The Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office said on Saturday it is investigating possible willful killing and aircraft destruction in its probe of the crash.
Tzvi Joffre and Reuters contributed to this report.
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