On Saturday, protesters with Iran’s MEK Freedom Movement took to the streets in Tehran to protest after Iran’s government admitted having shot down a Ukrainian plane by mistake, killing 176 people on board. Iran’s government claimed that the U.S. airstrike killing Quds Force leader Qasem Soleimani had united the country, but the protests disproved that narrative.
“Protests erupt against the Revolutionary Guards at Amir-Kabir University in Tehran due to authorities’ incompetence and negligence after the recent plane crash that killed more than 176 people,” Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad reported on Twitter. “Some people had claimed Iranians were united after [Soleimani]’s death. Think again.”
Protests erupt against the Revolutionary Guards at Amir-Kabir University in Tehran due to authorities' incompetence and negligence after the recent plane crash that killed more than 176 people.
Some people had claimed Iranians were united after #Soleimani's death. Think again. pic.twitter.com/ILacRPomZv
— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) January 11, 2020
“‘IRGC, shame on you. Let go of our country’ – chants at [Iran protests] today in Tehran’s Amirkabir University after the Revolutionary Guards admit to shooting down a [Ukrainian plane],” M. Hanif Jazayeri, an Iranian journalist based in Britain, tweeted. He summarized remarks from National Council of Resistance of Iran leader Maryam Rajavi, who called the plane crash “a great crime that Iran’s people will neither forgive nor forget.”
"IRGC, shame on you. Let go of our country" – chants at #IranProtests today in Tehran's Amirkabir University after the Revolutionary Guards admit to shooting down a #UkrainianPlane. Today @Maryam_Rajavi called it a great crime that Iran's people will neither forgive nor forget. pic.twitter.com/YDtEMDOT1P
— M. Hanif Jazayeri (@HanifJazayeri) January 11, 2020
Students chanted, “Death to the dictator!” They also called for the resignation of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
Woah! Now they're chanting for the Supreme Leader to go: "Commander-in-chief, resign, resign".
Iran's regime faces huge public outcry after IRGC admits it caused #UkrainePlaneCrash.
MEK sources say students at #IranProtests in Amirkabir Uni are also chanting Death to the Dictator pic.twitter.com/jOJeQg8tZM— M. Hanif Jazayeri (@HanifJazayeri) January 11, 2020
The protesters condemned Iran state media, which frequently spouts the ayatollah’s propaganda.
Young women chanting against the Supreme Leader on the streets of Iran "Khamenei shame on you, let go of our country"
Is the MSM hearing this?(via the MEK in Tehran's Sharif University of Technology)
CC @realDonaldTrump @USAmbUN @statedeptspox#IranProtests #UkrainePlaneCrash pic.twitter.com/6ueLa0I4wV
— M. Hanif Jazayeri (@HanifJazayeri) January 11, 2020
Some chanted, “Death to Khamenei!” Others loudly condemned the regime for having killed 1,500 protesters over the past year. Chants continued with cries of “Death to the oppressor. Be it the Shah or the Supreme Leader.”
The MEK, the group behind the protests, also protested against the Shah of Iran during the 1979 revolution. The MEK calls for a tolerant and democratic interpretation of Islam, “which is fully compatible with the values of modern-day society.”
Major new slogan in #IranProtests tonight: "Death to the oppressor. Be it the Shah or the Supreme Leader."
For the record: The MEK are behind these protests for regime change.
CC: @RichardGrenell @USAmbUN @SecPompeo
(Footage: via MEK activists under the Hafez Bridge in Tehran) pic.twitter.com/IUhuXDevjY
— M. Hanif Jazayeri (@HanifJazayeri) January 11, 2020
Perhaps most notably, these protesters chanted, “Soleimani is a murderer. His leader is also a murderer.” Such chants “rip through the recent false claims by [CNN], [Chris Matthews], & [The New York Times‘ Farnaz Fassihi] that Iranians support Soleimani,” Jazayeri tweeted.
"Soleimani is a murderer. His leader is also a murderer" – chants by Iran's students today rip through the recent false claims by @CNN, @HardballChris & @nytimes' @farnazfassihi that Iranians support Soleimani.
– #IranProtests via MEK activists in Tehran's Sharif University pic.twitter.com/QgbJDy7Xlu
— M. Hanif Jazayeri (@HanifJazayeri) January 11, 2020
Contrary to the liberal media narrative, Iran is not united for the regime against Trump’s strike on Soleimani, and many cheer the death of the terrorist leader.
Follow Tyler O’Neil, the author of this article, on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.
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