WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump said Saturday the United States wasmonitoring Iranian demonstrations closely, warning against any new“massacre” as protests broke out after Tehran admitted to shooting down apassenger plane.
Iran link saidearlier it unintentionally downed a Ukrainian jetliner outside Tehran,killing all 176 people aboard, in an abrupt about-turn after initiallydenying Western claims it was struck by a missile. The firing came shortlyafter Iran launched missiles at bases in Iraq housing American forces.
President Hassan Rouhani said a military probe into the tragedy had found“missiles fired due to human error” brought down the Boeing 737, calling itan “unforgivable mistake.”
At a student protest to pay tribute to the crash victims on Saturday,Iranian authorities briefly detained Britain’s ambassador, in what theBritish government called a violation of international law. He was laterreleased.
Donal Trump told Iranians — in tweets in both English and Farsi — that hestands by them and is monitoring the demonstrations.
“To the brave, long-suffering people of Iran: I’ve stood with you since thebeginning of my Presidency, and my Administration will continue to standwith you,” he tweeted.
“There can not be another massacre of peaceful protesters, nor an internetshutdown. The world is watching,” he added, apparently referring to anIranian crackdown on street protests that broke out in November.
“We are following your protests closely, and are inspired by your courage,”he said.
The new demonstrations follow an Iranian crackdown on street protests thatbroke out in November. Amnesty International has said it left more than 300people dead.
Internet access was reportedly cut off in multiple Iranian provinces aheadof memorials planned a month after the protests.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has demanded that Iran provide “fullclarity” on the downing of the plane. Ottawa says the dead included 57Canadians.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also offered his condolencesand ordered the armed forces to address “shortcomings” so that such adisaster does not happen again.
Tehran’s acknowledgement came after officials in Iran denied for daysWestern claims that the Ukraine International Airlines plane had beenstruck by a missile in a catastrophic error.
The Kiev-bound jet slammed into a field shortly after taking off fromTehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport on Wednesday.
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The crash came hours after Tehran launched missiles at bases hostingAmerican forces in Iraq in response to the killing of top Iranian generalQasem Soleimani in a US drone strike.
Fears grew of an all-out war between Iran and its arch-enemy the UnitedStates, but those concerns have subsided after Trump said Tehran appearedto be standing down after targeting the US bases.
– Protesters ‘dispersed’ –
On Saturday evening, police dispersed students who had converged on AmirKabir University in Tehran to pay tribute to the victims, after some amongthe hundreds gathered shouted “destructive” slogans, Fars news agency said.
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said UK envoy Rob Macaire had beendetained.
“The arrest of our ambassador in Tehran without grounds or explanation is aflagrant violation of international law,” Raab said in a statement. The UScalled on Iran to apologize.
Iran’s Tasnim News Agency, which is close to the country’s conservatives,said the envoy had been “provoking radical acts” among students. He wasreleased a few hours later and would be summoned again by Iranian officialson Sunday, it said.
State television reported that students shouted “anti-regime” chants, whileFars reported that posters of Soleimani had been torn down.
The aerospace commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards accepted fullresponsibility for Wednesday’s accident.
But Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh said the missile operator actedindependently, targeting the 737 after mistaking it for a “cruise missile”.
The operator failed to obtain approval from his superiors because ofdisruptions to a communications system, he said.
“He had 10 seconds to decide. He could have decided to strike or not tostrike and under such circumstances, he took the wrong decision.” -APP/AFP
