Iran protesters set fire to Khomeini's ancestral home – DW – 11

Authored by dw.com and submitted by AsslessBaboon
image for Iran protesters set fire to Khomeini's ancestral home – DW – 11

The house has served as a museum for 30 years, as a symbol of the late Supreme Leader. The structure was set ablaze as protesters celebrated a symbolic victory over the Iran's regime.

The ancestral home of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini that has functioned as a museum to the late Supreme Leader was set on fire by anti-regime protesters who continued their nearly two months of defiance against the hardline rule of Iran's theocratic rulers.

Videos posted to social media showed the house in Khomein in the western province of Markazi on fire as crowds marched past and cheered.

Journalist David Patrikarakos, who has written a book on Iran's nuclear ambitions, wrote on Twitter that the fire represents an "attack" that challenges "the essence of the republic itself."

Iranians have been in the streets for two months in protests led by women united by the protest slogan, "Freedom, women, life." The initial catalyst for the movement was the September 16 death of a student, Jina Mahsa Amini, at the hands of morality police ostensibly offended by her ill-fitted hijab.

Could Iran's protest movement pose a threat to the regime? To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

The protest movement represents the biggest threat the regime has faced since seizing power in 1979. Initially fueled by the strict rules of the clerics as it concerns women's dress, the protests have morphed into something much bigger that potentially could threaten the country's religious rulers and their grasp on power.

What do we know so far?

Iranian state news agency Tasnim denied the late cleric's showpiece home was on fire.

Tasnim claimed "the report is a lie." The Iranian outlet added that "the doors of the house of the late founder of the great revolution are open to the public."

By contrast, both AFP and Reuters have verified the location. Reuters reported the activist network 1500Tasvir said the incident occurred Thursday night.

Khomeini was born in the home in the town at the turn of the last century. His surname is taken from the town's name.

The house became a museum to commemorate the cleric who became known as the country's Supreme Leader.

It is unclear what damage there may be to the site.

As a cleric, Khomeini was harshly critical of Iran's then leader, shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, who enjoyed the support of Washington. In 1979, Khomeini returned from France to Iran to take the helm of the Islamic revolution unfolding in his country.

Known as the "Supreme Leader" in life, Khomeini died in 1989. He remains a figure of great reverence among the ruling clerical elite and the regime's supporters, even under the Supreme Leader who succeeded him, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

During the protests that have consumed Iran in the last two months, portraits of Khomeini have been set alight and scribbled on in acts of defiance.

Iranian women want change, not reforms: Aya Ibrahim To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

St3v3nMS3 on November 18th, 2022 at 14:02 UTC »

It’s a bad time to be an authoritarian leader these days.

autotldr on November 18th, 2022 at 13:30 UTC »

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 83%. (I'm a bot)

Protesters in Iran set fire to Khomeini's ancestral home - DW - 11/18/2022.

As protests stretch past the two-month mark in Iran, the fire at the home where the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was born represents a symbolic attack on the heart of the regimeImage: Sobhan Farajvan/Pacific Press/picture alliance.

The ancestral home of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini that has functioned as a museum to the late Supreme Leader was set on fire by anti-regime protesters who continued their nearly two months of defiance against the hardline rule of Iran's theocratic rulers.

Extended Summary | FAQ | Feedback | Top keywords: protest#1 Khomeini#2 Iran#3 Leader#4 fire#5

Wigu90 on November 18th, 2022 at 13:22 UTC »

Nice. Hit them where it hurts. They obviously don't value human lives, but a building where some long dead religious fanatic used to live is priceless and sacred.