Though protestors in Iran might have exhibited demonstrations of solidarity after the killing of Major General Qassem Soleimani earlier this month, the mood has changed after receiving news that the Iranian government lied about the crash of Ukrainian Airlines Flight 752 (via The New York Times ).
Though the government previously claimed that the cause of the tragedy was an engine failure, many politicos and experts expressed doubts. Part of this was due to the fact that Iran supplied a near-immediate cause of the crash, where mechanical failures usually take several days to confirm.
“Normally, you need to inspect the physical data, the wreckage, the flight data recorder data, and things like that to have information as to what happened,” explained R. John Hansman, a professor of aeronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (via Yahoo! Finance ).
In addition, reports began to follow that suggested the United States had data that could prove the plane was shot down. As previously covered by The Inquisitr , rumors were proven correct when The New York Times published a video that purportedly showed missiles hitting the aircraft.
Though Iran had originally denied the charges — calling it American propaganda — the government changed course yesterday, admitting that it had been accidentally shot down by anti-aircraft missiles. They attributed the strike to “human error.”
As a result, Iranians have gathered in the streets of Tehran to demonstrate their anger at the regime. Some chants, which were captured and shared on social media, even demanded the resignation of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
The most common chants were those of “death to liars!” and “death to the dictator,” referencing Khamenei.
“You have no shame!” shouted several young men in another video.
If the people of #Iran continue the #IranProtests this time for as long as it takes to remove the regime, the downing of #Ukrainian Flight #PS752 could be a turning point in history. Stay the course and never surrender. #FreeIran2020 #IranPlaneCrash pic.twitter.com/egKvZcc6uz
— Matthew VanDyke (@Matt_VanDyke) January 11, 2020
According to the Daily Mail , the mood became so tense that riot police were brought in to deal with the protestors. The authorities fired tear gas, used water cannons, and released police armed with batons into the masses to disperse the demonstrations.
“Our enemy is right here; They lie when they say it’s the US,” protesters were heard chanting in a video obtained by the British paper.
“Death to the Islamic Republic,” was another chant that was reported.
The voice of the Iranian people is clear. They are fed up with the regime’s lies, corruption, ineptitude, and brutality of the IRGC under @khamenei_ir ‘s kleptocracy. We stand with the Iranian people who deserve a better future. pic.twitter.com/tBOjv9XsIG
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) January 11, 2020
Shahin Gobadi, spokesman of the anti-regime group People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, said that the anger was a result of seeing through the “propaganda” of the regime.
“The protest by thousands of Iranians in Tehran burst the propaganda balloon of the regime regarding Qassem Soleimani’s elimination,” he said.