Shortly after the funeral of Dr. Arvin Moratab and Dr. Ayda Farzaneh in Behesht Mohamadi cemetery in Sanandaj, Kurdistan province, the gathered crowd began to chant anti-regime slogans, in line with the protests that have been occurring since the regime admitted fault on Saturday.
They chanted, “People didn’t die for us to praise the disgraceful leader”, which is a reference to supreme leader Ali Khamenei. Other slogans aimed at Khamenei, include:
- “Khamenei, listen. We are the people, not thugs”
- “Khamenei is a murderer, and his rule is obsolete”
- “Death to the dictator”
The regime had spent three days denying responsibility for the crash on January 8, claiming that the Ukrainian Airlines flight, which was headed for Kyiv, crashed due to mechanical failure. However, Iran refused to hand over the black box, which is used to determine the cause of plane crashes, to the manufacturer or to Ukraine, prompting widespread speculation that they shot down the flight, mistaking it for a missile, after firing 20 missiles at US bases in Iraq.
Following the release of mounting evidence, the regime finally admitted it stuck the flight with two missiles. This triggered a new wave of protests, just a month after the regime cracked down brutally on a nationwide uprising over fuel prices.
These new protests, started by students mainly, emphasize that the Iranian people want to overthrow the regime, with cries of “Death to the tyrant, be it the Shah or the Leader” or “Our enemy is right here, [the regime] is lying that it’s the US”, a common occurrence.
Other slogans include:
- “I will kill whoever killed my brother”
- “Death to Rouhani”
- “They killed our best, put mullahs in their place”
The student protests, which spread to other universities and other cities in Iran, have tapped into the Iranian people’s general resentment of the mullahs. The protesters, who are bravely defying the Iranian security forces, are risking their lives to see a free Iran.
The protesters will often chant against the security forces as well, with the slogans “Basiji, IRGC, you’re ISIS to us”, “Cannons, tanks, firecrackers, Bassijis must get lost”, and “IRGC shame on you, leave the country alone”
