WEB DESK
Protesters in Iran demanded resignation of senior leaders. This follows the admission by authorities that Iranian forces accidentally shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane, killing all 176 people on board. Hundreds of students joined the protests.
Protests took place outside at least two universities, with tear gas reportedly fired.
The protests come amid heightened tensions in the Persian Gulf following US assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad. Iran’s retaliatory missile strikes at US targets in Iraq may have accidentally caused the Wednesday Plane crash.
Meanwhile, Tehran’s police chief has denied that Iranian police officers shot at demonstrators protesting the downing of the Ukrainian International Airlines jet that left all 176 passengers dead. Hassan Roheimi said in a statement carried by Iran’s state broadcaster that officers had been ordered to “show restraint.”
The denial was in response to footage on social media which purported to show Iranian police and security forces firing both live ammunition and tear gas at demonstrators in Tehran.
The videos, which were posted by the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran on Sunday, could not be immediately verified. The images also showed blood on the ground and security personnel carrying rifles in the area. Meanwhile, other social media posts supposedly showed images of police in riot gear hitting demonstrators with batons.
