‘We don’t want Islamic Republic’: Thousands of protesters stand up to Iran’s brutality

This new round of protests was inspired by the Iranian government’s admission that it had “unintentionally” shot down a Ukrainian jetliner, killing every single passenger on board, many of whom were Iranian citizens. Iran did not offer a true apology — instead, top officials gave an excuse, arguing that if President Trump had not escalated tensions within the region, the “human error” would never have occurred, and 176 people would still be alive.

This, after days of lies and an attempt to cover the whole thing up by destroying evidence on the ground, rightly incensed a people still hurting from the regime’s violence in November.

“We don’t want Islamic Republic!” chanted students at Iran’s Beheshti University in Tehran.

Even more refused to walk on the images of U.S. and Israeli flags painted on the sidewalks.

The Iranian people don’t just want answers. They want justice. “Resignation is not enough. Prosecution is necessary,” they chanted in front of Tehran’s Amir Kabir University.

And in a sharp rebuke to the regime, protesters tore down images of Iranian general and terrorist, Qassem Soleimani, calling him “murderer” and a “traitor” and destroying the Iranian government’s narrative that in killing Soleimani, the United States had united Iranians around the banner of anti-American sentiment.

The risk these protesters are taking is extraordinary. Based on recent events, many of them could lose their lives, and they know it. Now, the question is: How will the rest of the world respond? Will they support the Iranian people, or will they hold them at arm’s length to prevent provoking the Iranian government?

To its credit, the Trump administration has already signaled its support. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement that the U.S. would stand “with the Iranian people who deserve a better future.” And Trump, in what is now the most liked Persian tweet in the history of Twitter, vowed to continue standing with “the brave and suffering Iranian people.”

Right now, Iran is a powder keg. The Iranian government tried to extinguish last year’s protests with brutality, but the Iranian people have now made it clear that they care more about freedom than their own safety. “There is fire under the ashes,” Hadi Ghaemi, executive director for the Center for Human Rights in Iran, said, citing an Iranian proverb. “They did not put out the fire. And don’t be surprised if it gets inflamed.”