SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Iranians rally in the capital Tehran on January 3, 2020 following the assassination of Iranian Revolutionary Guards Major General Qasem Soleimani in a U.S. strike on his convoy at Baghdad international airport. (Photo: Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)
Hundreds of Thousands of Iranians Flood Streets to Condemn US Assassination of Qassem Soleimani
The massive rallies discredited U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's claim that the people of Iran would "view the American action last night as giving them freedom."
Jan 02, 2020
Hundreds of thousands of Iranians flooded the streets of Tehran and other cities across the country Friday to condemn the U.S. assassination of military leader Qassem Soleimani, discrediting Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's prediction that the people of Iran would "view the American action last night as giving them freedom."
Images and videos of massive rallies circulated on social media as Iranians gathered following Friday prayers to denounce Soleimani's killing, which was ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump and carried out via drone strike Thursday night.
Soleimani's assassination, according to Al-Jazeera, "triggered a wave of emotions and garnered a response of solidarity and retribution across the otherwise divided Iranian political spectrum."
Nazli, a 40-year-old resident from the northern city of Rasht, told the Washington Post Friday that "everyone is worried."
"The people I spoke with weren't sad but shocked," said Nazli. "On social media, some people I thought didn't support the regime are now expressing sorrow for his death."
\u201cPompeo: Iranians will view the U.S. assassination of Qasem Soleimani as \u201cgiving them freedom.\u201d\n\nMeanwhile, tens of thousands of Iranians protest on the streets of Tehran against the Trump-ordered U.S. air strike that killed Soleimani.\nhttps://t.co/ooKfuLM1bx\u201d— Polly Sigh (@Polly Sigh) 1578060547
Hundreds of Iranians also gathered outside the United Nations office in Tehran to condemn the assassination, which sparked warnings of a catastrophic regional conflict.
Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, said in a statement Friday that "this is a moment in which leaders must exercise maximum restraint."
"The world cannot afford another war in the Gulf," said Haq.
\u201cProtesters rally outside UN office in #Tehran in response to US' killing of #Soleimani\u201d— Ruptly (@Ruptly) 1578007508
Iranian leaders condemned Soleimani's assassination as an act of terrorism and vowed retaliatory action against the United States.
"The U.S. bears responsibility for all consequences of its rogue adventurism," Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted late Thursday.
The massive rallies in Iran came as U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo said in a CNN interview Friday that he believes Iranians will welcome the assassination of Soleimani--a remark that drew comparisons to former Vice President Dick Cheney's infamous prediction in 2003 that American troops would be "greeted as liberators" in Iraq.
"We have every expectation that people not only in Iraq but in Iran will view the American action last night as giving them freedom," said Pompeo. "Freedom to have the opportunity for success and prosperity for their nations. While the political leadership may not want that, the people in these nations will demand it."
Watch:
\u201cMike Pompeo to CNN on Suleimani assassination: "I saw last night there was dancing in the streets in parts of Iraq. We have every expectation that people not only in Iraq, but in Iran, will view the American action last night as giving them freedom."\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1578062856
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Hundreds of thousands of Iranians flooded the streets of Tehran and other cities across the country Friday to condemn the U.S. assassination of military leader Qassem Soleimani, discrediting Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's prediction that the people of Iran would "view the American action last night as giving them freedom."
Images and videos of massive rallies circulated on social media as Iranians gathered following Friday prayers to denounce Soleimani's killing, which was ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump and carried out via drone strike Thursday night.
Soleimani's assassination, according to Al-Jazeera, "triggered a wave of emotions and garnered a response of solidarity and retribution across the otherwise divided Iranian political spectrum."
Nazli, a 40-year-old resident from the northern city of Rasht, told the Washington Post Friday that "everyone is worried."
"The people I spoke with weren't sad but shocked," said Nazli. "On social media, some people I thought didn't support the regime are now expressing sorrow for his death."
\u201cPompeo: Iranians will view the U.S. assassination of Qasem Soleimani as \u201cgiving them freedom.\u201d\n\nMeanwhile, tens of thousands of Iranians protest on the streets of Tehran against the Trump-ordered U.S. air strike that killed Soleimani.\nhttps://t.co/ooKfuLM1bx\u201d— Polly Sigh (@Polly Sigh) 1578060547
Hundreds of Iranians also gathered outside the United Nations office in Tehran to condemn the assassination, which sparked warnings of a catastrophic regional conflict.
Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, said in a statement Friday that "this is a moment in which leaders must exercise maximum restraint."
"The world cannot afford another war in the Gulf," said Haq.
\u201cProtesters rally outside UN office in #Tehran in response to US' killing of #Soleimani\u201d— Ruptly (@Ruptly) 1578007508
Iranian leaders condemned Soleimani's assassination as an act of terrorism and vowed retaliatory action against the United States.
"The U.S. bears responsibility for all consequences of its rogue adventurism," Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted late Thursday.
The massive rallies in Iran came as U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo said in a CNN interview Friday that he believes Iranians will welcome the assassination of Soleimani--a remark that drew comparisons to former Vice President Dick Cheney's infamous prediction in 2003 that American troops would be "greeted as liberators" in Iraq.
"We have every expectation that people not only in Iraq but in Iran will view the American action last night as giving them freedom," said Pompeo. "Freedom to have the opportunity for success and prosperity for their nations. While the political leadership may not want that, the people in these nations will demand it."
Watch:
\u201cMike Pompeo to CNN on Suleimani assassination: "I saw last night there was dancing in the streets in parts of Iraq. We have every expectation that people not only in Iraq, but in Iran, will view the American action last night as giving them freedom."\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1578062856
Hundreds of thousands of Iranians flooded the streets of Tehran and other cities across the country Friday to condemn the U.S. assassination of military leader Qassem Soleimani, discrediting Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's prediction that the people of Iran would "view the American action last night as giving them freedom."
Images and videos of massive rallies circulated on social media as Iranians gathered following Friday prayers to denounce Soleimani's killing, which was ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump and carried out via drone strike Thursday night.
Soleimani's assassination, according to Al-Jazeera, "triggered a wave of emotions and garnered a response of solidarity and retribution across the otherwise divided Iranian political spectrum."
Nazli, a 40-year-old resident from the northern city of Rasht, told the Washington Post Friday that "everyone is worried."
"The people I spoke with weren't sad but shocked," said Nazli. "On social media, some people I thought didn't support the regime are now expressing sorrow for his death."
\u201cPompeo: Iranians will view the U.S. assassination of Qasem Soleimani as \u201cgiving them freedom.\u201d\n\nMeanwhile, tens of thousands of Iranians protest on the streets of Tehran against the Trump-ordered U.S. air strike that killed Soleimani.\nhttps://t.co/ooKfuLM1bx\u201d— Polly Sigh (@Polly Sigh) 1578060547
Hundreds of Iranians also gathered outside the United Nations office in Tehran to condemn the assassination, which sparked warnings of a catastrophic regional conflict.
Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, said in a statement Friday that "this is a moment in which leaders must exercise maximum restraint."
"The world cannot afford another war in the Gulf," said Haq.
\u201cProtesters rally outside UN office in #Tehran in response to US' killing of #Soleimani\u201d— Ruptly (@Ruptly) 1578007508
Iranian leaders condemned Soleimani's assassination as an act of terrorism and vowed retaliatory action against the United States.
"The U.S. bears responsibility for all consequences of its rogue adventurism," Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted late Thursday.
The massive rallies in Iran came as U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo said in a CNN interview Friday that he believes Iranians will welcome the assassination of Soleimani--a remark that drew comparisons to former Vice President Dick Cheney's infamous prediction in 2003 that American troops would be "greeted as liberators" in Iraq.
"We have every expectation that people not only in Iraq but in Iran will view the American action last night as giving them freedom," said Pompeo. "Freedom to have the opportunity for success and prosperity for their nations. While the political leadership may not want that, the people in these nations will demand it."
Watch:
\u201cMike Pompeo to CNN on Suleimani assassination: "I saw last night there was dancing in the streets in parts of Iraq. We have every expectation that people not only in Iraq, but in Iran, will view the American action last night as giving them freedom."\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1578062856
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.