Wave of protests in Iran after plane shooting incident
(Baonghean) - Iranians are creating a wave of protests, and the press is also putting pressure on Iran's leaders, after the country's military admitted that it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian plane, killing 176 people. Riot police increased their presence in Tehran on January 12.
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| Iranian students protest in Tehran on January 11 against the government for mistakenly shooting down a passenger plane. Photo: AFP |
Photos and reports of the protests were carried by government-affiliated news agencies. Videos also appeared on social media. Tehran residents said there was an increased police presence in the capital on the morning of January 12.
Also on January 12, Iran's Etemad newspaper wrote under the banner headline "Apologize and resign", saying that "the people's demand" was that those responsible for this incident were forced to resign.
The protests erupted after Iran admitted on January 11 that it had mistakenly shot down a Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) plane just minutes after it took off on January 8. The government statement blamed "military flights by US terrorists across the country" for "increasing the sensitivity of air defense complexes," leading to Iran's defense forces "at the highest level of readiness to deal with possible threats."
Previously, Iranian officials completely denied responsibility, even though Canada (whose 57 citizens were killed) and the US said intelligence information both implied that an Iranian missile was the cause of the accident, although it was highly likely that it was shot down by mistake.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said it was a “big mistake” and apologized. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif also expressed “deep regret” and apologized to the Iranian people, the families of the victims and the affected countries.