'The world is watching': Trump tweets in support of Iran protests
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Iran protests erupt after Tehran admits Ukrainian passenger jet accidentally shot down
President Donald Trump tweeted his support for anti-government protests after Iran admits they accidentally shot down the passenger jet.
USA TODAY
As anti-government protesters took to the streets in Tehran against Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Donald Trump tweeted in support and called for international monitors.
Iranian students have protested outside several universities for a second day amid mounting outrage over officials' admission that an Iranian antiaircraft battery was responsible for downing a Ukrainian passenger jet.
Videos circulating on social media on January 12 showed protesters gathering outside Beheshti University in Tehran, chanting "the students are vigilant and are fed up with that Ali" -- a disrespectful reference to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iranian students have protested outside several universities for a second day amid mounting outrage over officials' admission that an Iranian antiaircraft battery was responsible for downing a Ukrainian passenger jet.
Videos circulating on social media on January 12 showed protesters gathering outside Beheshti University in Tehran, chanting "the students are vigilant and are fed up with that Ali" -- a disrespectful reference to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The new protests came one day after Iran's military said that Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 was hit with two missiles fired in error by an Iranian air-defense unit manned by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
The crash occurred early January 8, just hours after Iran fired ballistic missiles at U.S. forces on Iraqi bases.
Demonstrators have called for those responsible for the missile strike to be tried.
Another video showed several dozen students protesting outside the Isfahan University of Technology, south of Tehran, specifically criticizing the IRGC.
"The guards are committing crimes and the leader supports them," they chanted.
"The government of Iran must allow human rights groups to monitor and report facts from the ground on the ongoing protests by the Iranian people," Trump tweeted in English and Farsi. "There can not be another massacre of peaceful protesters, nor an internet shutdown. The world is watching."
Trump was referencing the Iranian government's crackdown on anti-government protests over a spike in gas prices last November. The government quashed protests by arresting, injuring and killing protesters and shutting down the country's internet.
On Friday, the Iranian government accepted blame for the downing of a Ukrainian airliner Wednesday, sparking protests against the Iranian government's handling of the incident.
The United Kingdom Ambassador to Iran was arrested and briefly detained by Iranian authorities after attending Saturday's protest. British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab slammed the arrest as a "flagrant violation of international law."
In a tweet, State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus called on the Iranian government to apologize to the British government and to "respect the rights of all diplomats."
The Ukrainian jet was shot down by the Iranian military, which had mistaken it for a cruise missile, killing all 176 people aboard. The government had insisted a missile had not caused the plane's crash. But in a statement on Friday Eastern Standard Time, the Iranian military said the plane was mistaken for a “hostile target” after it turned toward a “sensitive military center” of the Revolutionary Guard. The statement was carried by Iranian state media on Saturday morning local time.
The plane's downing occurred shortly after Iranian missiles struck U.S. bases in Iraq in retaliation for the killing of top Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in an airstrike ordered by Trump.
The tensions between the two countries, however, did not reach any further levels of military escalation. On Thursday, Trump announced further sanctions on Iran, saying Iran "appears to be standing down."
Trump also tweeted a message in both English and Farsi expressing support for the people of Iran.
"We are following your protests closely, and are inspired by your courage," he wrote.
Contributing: Grace Hauck
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