A new wave of protests captured Iran after the state officially conceded that the Boeing of Ukraine International Lines was unintentionally shot down by Air Defense operators.
The Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif called the disaster the result of “a human error” caused by “the US adventurism”, referring to the destructive policies of the Trump administration, which constantly provokes tensions in the socio-political situation in the Middle Eastern region.
Protests and demonstrations in Iran do not pass peacefully: the usual slogans “Death to America!” were replaced by “Death to the dictator!” and “Death to the liar!”, as well as public calls for Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to resign. During one of the protests, the participants shouted “Khamenei, have shame! Get out of the country”.
The situation in the Middle East was commented on by Sanam Vakil, senior researcher and Head of the Iranian forum at London’s Chatham House. She drew an analogy between the plane crash in Tehran and the nuclear catastrophe in the Ukrainian Chernobyl in 1986, which, as she said, “exposed the incompetence and state deception” in the then existing regime.
“Through the western lens, we are always looking for a revolutionary moment, in this case, in Iran. There are certainly similarities between how authorities handled the Chernobyl accident and the downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752: repeated denials, attempted cover-ups, inescapable evidence from foreign governments, and a reluctant admission. This could be ‘Iran’s Chernobyl moment’. But the question is how is Iranian leadership going to handle it”, – Vakil stated.
It is important that the fall of the Boeing caused a harsh condemnation not only from the opposition, but also from the conservative representatives of the Iranian society.
Whether the sensational plane crash and the ensuing mass unrest will be the final reason for the overthrow of the established regime is still unclear. One thing is obvious: the invariable principle of geopolitical chaos, in which the United States of America pursues its foreign policy, undermines the sovereignty of the countries of the Middle East, depriving them of the right to independently make decisions regarding their internal socio-political structure. In this case, the harsh consequences of the destructive US policy in the field of Iran indirectly provoke increased unrest, potentially contributing to the destruction of the existing regime with the help of human casualties. The Trump administration is not directly responsible for the collapse of the Ukrainian Boeing, but its traditional actions deprive the Iranian society of the opportunity to fully defend its rights.