It took Tehran three days to admit it had accidentally downed a Ukrainian plane with 176
\npassengers on board, of whom dozens of Iranians, and people got mad. They took
\nto the streets of Tehran and other cities and shouted slogans against the
\nauthorities, also calling for the resignation of the dictator, a hint at the
\nIranian supreme leader, the ayatollah Ali Khamenei.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The spokesperson for the Iranian Government, Ali
\nRabii, has stated that nobody tried to hide the truth, but the initial
\nstatements were based on information that showed no connection between the
\nplane crash and a missile, as it was proven later. According to the Iranian
\nauthorities, it was just an error caused by the tensions between Iran and the
\nUS, the latter being expected to potentially retaliate. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Tension
\nescalated after the killing on January 3rd, by the US, of the
\nIranian general Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force, a division
\nprimarily responsible for the external operations of the Islamic Revolutionary
\nGuard. Tehran promised to revenge the death of its general and, shortly after,
\nseveral missiles were shot in Baghdad, in the Green Zone,where the US
\nembassy is also located.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The killing of
\nSoleimani, seen as the second most important person in Tehran after the
\nspiritual leader Ali Khamenei, was an action meant to put an end to a war, and
\nnot to start another, the US president explained, saying that Soleimani was
\npreparing attacks on several US embassies. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Speaking on Radio
\nRomania, Ovidiu Raetchi, a specialist in Middle East issues, made an analysis
\nof the current situation;<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The
\nmassive evidence that the plane was actually downed forced the regime to assume
\nresponsibility for the attack. Now, the government has to manage a domestic
\ncrisis. Iranians are very sensitive to suffering, that’s how Shiites are, this
\nis how their religion is defined, in the face of unjust death. Therefore, there will be genuine riots,
\nbeyond any other type of uprising that Iran’s adversaries are interested in
\nfostering. I believe there will be a year full of uprisings, first of all
\nbecause the population has started to react to what the government did. The
\nIranian people is an educated people, they are very sensitive and the sense of justice
\nis in their blood. They understand that the US, Israel, maybe the West, maybe
\nRussia, or China, are interested in encouraging such protests, because the best
\nway to get rid of Iran’s snaking around the Middle East, around Saudi Arabia,
\naround Israel, is to sever the head. The body of the snake is so tight in Gaza,
\nLebanon, Syria, around Israel, Yemen and Iraq, that it will take years to
\nremove it. So, the best way to do that is to encourage a change in the regime.
\nWe will see what China has to say about that and what Vladimir Putin’s stand
\nwill be. I believe that, in the medium and long run, Russia will be winning.
\nWhat China will do, is debatable. It is a major player, who does not really
\nwant the US to take a step forward in the Middle East, so the Chinese interests
\nmight relate to a non-revolutionary and rather quiet Iran.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In Tehran,
\npleading for national reconciliation, president Hassan Rouhani called for a
\nmajor change in the way in which Iran is being governed, implicitly admitting
\nthat the tragedy caused by the downing
\nof the Ukrainian plane triggered a trust crisis. What will come next? Is the
\nconflict going to escalate, or it will die slowly?; and which will be the stand
\nof the US on this matter? <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Here is analyst Ovidiu Raetchi again:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The
\nDonald Trump approach, as we saw it, including in the relation with North
\nKorea, tells us that from now on we will see the negotiator, seductive side of
\nthe US president. The problem is whether Iran will allow itself to hold talks
\nwith the US, given that domestic protests are growing. If the domestic fight
\ncontinues, the ayatollahs’ solution will be to destabilize the Middle East. One
\nof the reasons why people are protesting, beyond everything that’s happened to
\nthe plane, is the discontent for the way in which people live in Iran. The
\nprotests had already started before this crisis, they actually started in
\nautumn, for economic reasons.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Potential
\nnegotiations might focus on a nuclear deal. Tehran would accept some very
\nclear limits and control under certain terms, and would also renounce its
\naggressive policy with regard to the Shiite area, Ovidiu Raetchi believes. In
\nexchange for that, sanctions might be eased. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It took Tehran three days to admit it had accidentally downed a Ukrainian plane with 176 passengers on board<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":108,"featured_media":83019,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43939],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-156240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-future-starts-today"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n