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."
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.
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:
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. 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. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —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."
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.
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:
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."
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.
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:
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.