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Iran .. Demonstrations of "stricken plane" escalate and reach Azadi Square

Iran .. Demonstrations of "stricken plane" escalate and reach Azadi Square

Protests escalated in Iran

Iranian protests reached the Azadi Square in central Tehran and spread to several cities, in a rapid escalation of the demonstrations that erupted on Saturday evening, after the Revolutionary Guards claimed responsibility for the accidental shooting down of a civilian plane.
Protests erupted in Iran for the second day, Sunday, which intensified pressure on the country’s government after the army admitted to accidentally shooting down a Ukrainian passenger plane, at a time when it feared American strikes.

Video clips posted on Twitter showed dozens of protesters in front of a number of Tehran universities, chanting: "They lie and say that our enemy is America, our enemy is here." Videos also showed dozens of demonstrators gathered in other cities.

And Iran International Agency published a video of mass demonstrations in the center of Azadi Square, in which the demonstrators chanted, "The Revolutionary Guards is committing massacres and the guide is supporting it."


The Azadi Square was distinguished by the fact that it witnessed many peaceful and violent demonstrations that eventually led to the revolution that toppled the Shah in 1979, led by Khomeini.



The massive demonstrations in Azadi were similar to those the country witnessed during the gathering of students of the "Beheshti" University in Tehran, chanting slogans condemning the downing of the Ukrainian plane, and chanted: "Our enemy here, not America ... We do not want spectators who organized for us," according to videos published by the Agency of Iran International.

Protests also erupted at Damghan University, northern Iran, and the University of Isfahan, in the center of the country, and chants focused on the Iranian Supreme Leader: "The Revolutionary Guards is killed, and the mentor is supporting him."

Revolutionary Guards threatening

 For his part, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, through the representative of the Supreme Leader, Ali Shirazi, threatened to break up the protests by force if they did not stop, as he described the protesters as being subordinate to America and Israel, according to Iranian media.

Some state-linked media also reported Saturday's protests, after the Iranian army apologized for the accidentally shooting down of the Ukrainian plane, Wednesday, killing all 176 people on board.

Residents in Tehran told Reuters that the police had reinforced its presence in the capital on Sunday, with anger escalating after the army denied for days that it was responsible for the crash, even after Canada and the United States said a missile had brought it down.

Riot police fired tear gas into thousands of Iranians in the capital on Saturday, as many of them chanted the slogan "Death to the dictator", directing their anger at Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

And spread many videos of clashes between demonstrators and security forces, in various Iranian cities, including the cities of Babel and Kermanshah.

"They apologized and resigned," the moderate daily Etemad said in a headline on Sunday, adding that "the people's demand" was the resignation of those responsible for mismanaging the plane crisis.

The new wave increases anger over the challenges facing the authorities, who launched a bloody campaign in November to quell the protests. The leadership is also making great efforts to prevent the collapse of the economy, which is tied by severe US sanctions.