Iran to form special court for plane downing suspects

TEHRAN - Iran’s President Rouhani on Tuesday called for a special court to be formed to oversee a probe into the accidental downing of a Ukrainian airliner which killed all 176 passengers, as protest continue across the country.

The Islamic Republic also announced that the first arrests have been made over the blunder, but did not specify how many, nor how senior the arrested individuals were.

30 protesters have also been detained.

"Extensive investigations have been carried out and some people have been arrested," said spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili.

Following the tragic crash, the military blamed mechanical failure for three days before eventually acknowledging that a missile operator had mistaken the Boeing 737 for a hostile target.

The admission of guilt has sparked widespread anger, with demonstrations expected for the fourth day in Tehran and other Iranian cities to denounce both Rouhani’s government and the clerical leadership headed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which has extensive influence over the military and the state.

Under mounting international and internal pressure for a thorough investigation, Rouhani appeared critical of the military when urging the creation of a special court.

"The judiciary must form a special court with a high-ranking judge and dozens of experts... The whole world will be watching," Rouhani said.

"It cannot be that only the person who pressed the button is at fault. There are others, and I want this to be explained to the people explicitly.”

"They must explain the whole process. From Wednesday morning when the incident happened until the meeting on Friday night of the Supreme National Security Council. They must explain this whole process to the people," Rouhani went on to say.

"But more important than anything else, in my opinion, is that our people must be assured that this incident will not be repeated.”

Protester crackdown

Pressure is mounting in what appears to be one of the biggest challenges to Iran’s clerical rulers since the 1979 Islamic revolution, with public fury reaching boiling point.

The people of Iran are rightfully incensed by the handling of the situation so far, with videos on social media purporting to show demonstrators rallying against authorities for a third consecutive day, shouting slogans against the republic and carrying placards reading ‘Clerics get lost!’.

Footage also showed police beating protesters with batons, wounded people being carried, pools of blood on the streets and the sound of gunfire.

More protests are expected on Tuesday as security builds up in areas of the capital, particularly near universities where protests have been most populated.

The government denies using unnecessary force against protesters, claiming that ‘tolerance’ is being shown, despite several arrests.

“Around 30 people have been arrested for taking part in illegal gatherings ... We have tolerance towards legal rallies,” said Esmaili.

This comes two months after authorities doubled down against anti-government protests, killing hundreds in a violent crackdown that US President Donald Trump called a ‘massacre’.

Washington - Iran tensions

Canada, Ukraine, Britain and other nations who lost citizens in the accident are scheduled to meet in London on Thursday to discuss potential legal action against Tehran.

Canada, who lost 57 citizens, is also expected to be more involved in the investigation than international rule normally requires, according to the head of its Transportation Safety Board.

The disaster and subsequent unrest comes amid increasing tension between Washington and Tehran.

Strikes on a US base in Iraq in December that killed an American contractor were blamed on an Iran-backed militia.

This led to Trump’s decision to take revenge by killing Qassem Soleimani, architect of much of Iran’s proxy war network and considered the country’s second most influential figure, in a drone strike on January 3rd in Baghdad.

The downing of the Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 comes amid heightened paranoia by the Iranian military given the precarious security situation.