Hours after the Islamic Republic's officials were forced to admit that the Ukrainian passenger plane was shot down by a missile fired by the Revolutionary Guard Corps, protesters took to the streets and chanted slogans against the Leader of the Islamic Republic, the Revolutionary Guard Corps, and other officials in several locations, including in front of Amir Kabir University and Sharif University.
Narratives and videos received by Voice of America and reports published on social media indicate a large gathering of protesters and attacks by security and law enforcement forces on the protesters.
The main slogans are against the Leader of the Islamic Republic and the IRGC and call for the trial and resignation of Iranian regime officials.
After several days of denials, the Islamic Republic of Iran finally announced today, under international pressure, that the downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane, which killed 176 people, was due to "human error" and was carried out by the "unintentional" firing of a missile by the Revolutionary Guards.
Two days ago, the United States announced that the passenger plane had been shot down by Iran.
On Thursday, January 9, US President Donald Trump called the Ukrainian plane crash in Iran a "tragedy" and said: "I have my doubts too. It's a very painful event. There have been doubts about this crash. Maybe someone made a mistake there."
After the US President's statement, US intelligence sources announced that there was evidence that the plane was shot down by Iran.
The General Staff of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Armed Forces claimed in a statement that the Ukrainian plane was “unintentionally targeted due to human error” because it was approaching a “sensitive military center” of the IRGC while “turning.” The statement added that IRGC officials would provide an explanation to the public.
On Wednesday morning, January 8, a Ukrainian Boeing 737 crashed near the new city of Parand in Tehran province, minutes after taking off from Imam Khomeini International Airport for Kiev, with 176 people on board. The incident came just hours after Iran launched a missile attack on US forces in Iraq, which IRGC officials said was in retaliation for the US killing of Qassem Soleimani. At the time, the Associated Press reported that Ukraine had considered a missile attack or terrorism as possible theories for the crash, despite Iranian denials.
Source: Voice of America
