Videos on social networks showed a burning building, which critics of the Iranian government said was Khomeini’s house, set on fire during a demonstration in the city of Khomein. The news agencies Reuters and AFP called the recordings authentic.
In contrast, reports by the semi-official Iranian news agency Tasnim stated that the house of the revolutionary leader, who died in 1989, was not on fire. A small number of people have gathered in front of the building. “The report is a lie,” Tasnim reported. “The doors of the house of the late founder of the great revolution are open to the public.”
With violence against protests
Video footage showed dozens of people outside the building cheering as a fire broke out there. It is unclear when the videos were taken. The government-critical network 1500Tasvir said the incident happened on Thursday evening in Khomeini’s hometown Khomeini. The place is south of the capital Tehran. The house had been turned into a museum.
His successor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is facing ongoing protests. In Iran, numerous people have been demonstrating against the leadership for weeks. The security forces sometimes use violence against them and try to suppress the protests.
Revolutionary Guards members killed
According to the network, other videos released by Tasvir show demonstrators in several cities in Sistan-Baluchistan province. In their capital, Sahedan, people chanted “Tod Khamenei.” In Chabahar, protesters removed and trod on the street sign of an avenue named after Khomeini.
According to the Tasnim agency, there were also pro-government rallies in Mashhad in the north-east of the country. Two members of the Basij militia were killed in the city on Thursday. According to the Revolutionary Guards website, two members of the secret service were killed in clashes with demonstrators on Thursday evening. Security forces were also killed in Tehran and the province of Kurdistan, it said. It is not known how many civilian casualties there were.
Protests escalated after the death of a 22-year-old
The current protests escalated after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. The Kurd died in police custody on September 16. The religious police had arrested her because she was said to have been dressed “inappropriately”. The protests have since grown into the biggest challenge to the country’s spiritual leadership since 1979. At that time, the Shah was overthrown in the course of the Islamic Revolution and the Islamic Republic was proclaimed – with Khomeini as spiritual and political leader.
There were also protests on Friday at the funerals of suspected victims of Iranian security forces cracking down on the protests, according to media reports in the cities of Iseh, Tabriz and Mahabad. Among other things, a nine and a 14-year-old are said to have been killed.