Khamenei
The Iranian Supreme Leader expressed his support for the Revolutionary Guards in a rare sermon on Friday after the Guard's explicit admission that he had mistakenly shot down a passenger plane, leading to protests for days on the streets.
In the first Friday sermon in eight years, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told thousands of Iranians chanting “Death to America” that the Revolutionary Guards could transfer their battle outside Iran’s borders, in response to the killing of the Quds Force’s commander with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Qassem Soleimani in American attack.
Washington said any threats would only further isolate Iran.
Khamenei's speech came at a time when the crisis is raging for his country, which is facing unrest at home and increasing pressure from abroad.
Washington's withdrawal in 2018 from the Iranian nuclear agreement signed with world powers and the reimposition of US sanctions that crippled the Iranian economy led to a vicious circle of hostility between Washington and Tehran.
The matter turned into an exchange of military strikes between Iran and the United States when US President Donald Trump ordered the killing of Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force, one of the Revolutionary Guards units responsible for Iran's operations abroad, in an airliner strike on January 3.
Iran retaliated with missile strikes on US targets in Iraq on January 8, which resulted in casualties but without the deaths of US forces.
In the atmosphere of tension that followed Iranian missile strikes on American targets, and at a time when Iranian forces were expecting American reprisals, the IRGC air defenses accidentally shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane, killing all 176 people on board, most of whom are Iranian or have nationalities. Dual.
It took days for the Revolutionary Guards, who receive orders directly from Khamenei, to confess to the error even though a leader said he had told the authorities the reason the day the plane fell. The delay in this recognition sparked protests across the country, sometimes met with violent repression. The protesters directed their anger at the Revolutionary Guards and the ruling religious institutions that were formed to protect them.
"Our enemies ... are happy that they found an excuse to downplay the Revolutionary Guards, the armed forces, and our regime," Khamenei said on Friday in the sermon, praising the guards who said he was protecting Iran and again demanding the departure of US forces from the region.
Khamenei stressed that Soleimani’s work to expand Iranian military influence abroad would continue and said that the Quds Force he commanded “protected the oppressed states across the region.” He described his soldiers as "fighters without borders."
On Friday, the US special envoy for Iran, Brian Hook, said Tehran's threats would only isolate it further. Hook told reporters in a statement that the United States also imposed sanctions on a leader of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards at the rank of Brigadier General in the latest step of his country against Iran.
But Russia has provided some support to Iran in relation to the plane disaster. On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the shooting down took place at a time when Tehran was concerned by reports of ghost fighters flying in the region.
"There were at least six F-35 (American) fighters in the air inside the Iranian border (at that time)," Lavrov said. This information has not yet been verified, but I would like to point out the tension that accompanies such situations. ”
Bitter Tragedy
Student-led protests erupted in Tehran and other cities for four days over the shooting down of the Ukrainian plane.
As the unrest intensified, Trump wrote on Twitter in both Persian and English to support the demonstrators chanting "Death to Khamenei" and with slogans against the Revolutionary Guards.
"These American clowns are lying by saying that they stand with the Iranian people ... and they should see who the Iranian people are," the Supreme Leader said on Friday.
He continued, "The plane crash is a bitter tragedy that burned our hearts ... but some tried to use it as an excuse to cover up the martyrdom of our great leader, Soleimani."
But he fell short of direct apology even though the Revolutionary Guards and other officials have issued extensive apologies since the accident.
Khamenei urged the Iranians to unite and show solidarity with their country by turning in large numbers to participate in the February parliamentary elections.
Soleimani's funeral attracted huge crowds of Iranian mourners as he was portrayed for a long time in their country as a national hero while the West views him as a fierce enemy.
Some Iranians commented on social media angrily on Khamenei's Friday sermon and his remarks on the plane disaster.
"There's no word to apologize," Mike Burarian said on Twitter. Just arrogance. ”
To quell the demonstrations, the authorities sent riot police officers to the streets, lining up outside the universities where the protests focused. Video footage posted on the Internet showed the protesters being beaten, with gunshots and blood in the streets.
Iranian police denied firing on the protesters and said they had ordered their forces to exercise restraint.
In the fiercest unrest in the country since 1979, the Iranian authorities quelled nearly two months ago protests that took place due to a sharp increase in fuel prices, which added to the suffering of ordinary Iranians who are already facing difficulties in living due to the US sanctions.
Iran has gradually reduced its obligations under the nuclear agreement in response to Washington's "extreme pressure" policy, including by exceeding the limits stipulated in the agreement to enrich uranium.
This led to the activation of Britain, France and Germany, the three European countries that signed and tried to save the nuclear agreement, the dispute settlement mechanism in the nuclear agreement, a measure that could lead to the re-imposition of United Nations sanctions on Iran.
Khamenei
Source Dubai (Reuters)
