The United States supports protests in Iran amid recognition by the Islamic Republic authorities of responsibility for the strike on the Ukrainian Boeing 737-800. US President Donald Trump announced solidarity with the protesters in English and Farsi on his Twitter.

“To the brave, long-suffering people of Iran: I support you from the very beginning of my presidency, my administration will continue to support you. We are closely monitoring your protests and are inspired by your courage, ”Trump wrote.

At the same time, the head of the White House demanded that the government of the Islamic Republic allow human rights defenders to monitor protests in the country. According to him, "there can be neither another massacre of peaceful demonstrators, nor a disconnection of the Internet."

“Label a terrorist state”

Earlier it was reported that on January 11, protests took place in Tehran in front of the building of the Amir Kabir Technological University. The protesters demanded the resignation of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to whom the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) is subordinate, who took responsibility for launching an anti-aircraft missile on the Ukraine International Airlines liner.

Recall that in the early morning of January 8, the plane crashed a few minutes after taking off from Tehran's airport. 176 people became victims of the catastrophe, the vast majority of those killed were citizens of Iran and Canada.

On January 11, the republic’s authorities said that the calculation of the anti-aircraft missile system mistakenly mistook the Ukrainian plane for a cruise missile. Iranian air defense forces were on high alert due to Trump's threats to destroy 52 facilities in the country.

The aggravation of relations between Tehran and Washington was preceded by an attack on the US Embassy in Baghdad and the assassination of US Air Force General KSIR Kassem Suleimani. On the night of January 8, Iran fired ballistic missiles at military facilities in the United States in Iraq. The attack was without casualties and serious destruction.

Interviewed by RT experts believe that the tragic incident with a Ukrainian plane is politicized by Western states to build up the internal situation in the Islamic republic. The United States is supported by the United Kingdom, whose ambassador Robert MacAir was detained during one of the rallies in Tehran.

According to the authorities of the republic, he was engaged in the incitement of protesters. The ambassador himself said on his Twitter page that he did not participate in the rally and left five minutes after the audience began to chant slogans.

UK Foreign Minister Dominic Raab called the detention of a diplomat “a flagrant violation of international law.” He called on Tehran to make a choice between an outcast status and a state that seeks to reduce tensions.

The US State Department also criticized the Iranian authorities because of the incident with the detention of Makair. On her Twitter, official spokesman Morgan Ortagus demanded that Tehran apologize for allegedly violating the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Arakchi, in turn, said that British Ambassador Robert Makair was detained in Tehran as an unknown foreigner at an illegal meeting and released 15 minutes later, when the Deputy Minister found out about his status.

“He was detained as an unknown alien in an illegal assembly. When the police informed me that a man had been arrested who claims to be the British ambassador, I said that this could not be! Only after talking with him on the phone I was surprised to see that it was really him. He was released 15 minutes later, ”Arakchi wrote on Twitter.

“Now no one is justifying Iran. The authorities took full responsibility for the strike on the plane, admitted that they had made a terrible mistake. However, we see how the incident gives a clear political coloring. The US wants to label Iran as a terrorist state, ”Irina Fedorova, senior researcher at the Center for the Study of the Near and Middle East of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said in a commentary on RT.

“The crash of Boeing will not leave the agenda”

According to Reuters, thousands of indignant citizens took to the streets of the Iranian capital, who entered into a confrontation with the police. However, the local Fars news agency reports that between 700 and 1,000 people attended the rallies. At the same time, the demonstrators allegedly tore the portrait of the murdered Suleymani.

Irina Fedorova called the protest rallies in Tehran small against the backdrop of rallies and clashes that swept through the republic in November 2019. Then the impetus for popular performances was the increase in gas prices. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani linked the riots with US and Israeli intervention.

“Iranian society has a high protest activity, which is supported by foreign countries, including the United States and Israel. At the same time, it should be noted that there are many internal reasons for it related to the deterioration of the country's economic situation. However, the recognition by the Iranian leadership of responsibility for hitting a Ukrainian plane will not become a detonator of any mass actions. On the contrary, anti-American sentiments are very strong in society. Iranians rallied after the death of Suleymani. This murder united the country, ”said Fedorova.

Russian orientalist Said Gafurov adheres to a similar point of view. He believes that Iranian society is more concerned about the growing pressure from the United States and the problems that the economy is experiencing.

  • Anti-government protests in Tehran in November 2019
  • Reuters
  • © Nazanin Tabatabaee / WANA

“Now it’s convenient for the protests to hide behind the guilt of the Iranian leadership in the attack on Boeing, but the real content of the current and future protests is the economic policy of the government. What can the USA do here? Of course, there is a social support in the republic for protests, but there is no powerful pro-American core in Iran, including among the intelligentsia, ”Gafurov explained.

According to experts, the incident with the aircraft will soon be exhausted. At the same time, according to him, the Iranian authorities intend to conduct a thorough investigation of the circumstances of the incident and punish the perpetrators.