12 January
US President Donald Trump has expressed support for protesters in Iran who have taken to the streets over the government's downing of a Ukrainian airliner.
Trump tweeted in English and Persian: "My Administration will continue to stand with you. We are following your protests closely, and are inspired by your courage." The demonstration broke out in Tehran on Saturday after Iran's military admitted to unintentionally shooting down the passenger jet, reversing its earlier denial. Protesters said the Iranian leadership had concealed the truth.
Wednesday's crash killed all 176 people on board, including scores of Iranians.
In another tweet Trump said: "The government of Iran must allow human rights groups to monitor and report facts from the ground. There cannot be another massacre of peaceful protesters. The world is watching." US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has uploaded video footage of protests in Iran and tweeted: "The voice of the Iranian people is clear. They are fed up with the regime's lies and corruption, and brutality of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps under the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei."
Washington says more than 1,000 anti-government demonstrators may have been killed by Iranian authorities in November.—NHK
