Iranians step up protests after Tehran's admission that it shot down Ukrainian airliner

Iranian protesters and newspaperspiledpressureon the country's leadership and riot police stepped up their presence in Tehran on SundayafterIran's military admitted that it had mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian airliner.

Riot police fired teargas at thousands ofIranians who had taken to the streets late on Saturday in the capital and other cities, many chanting "Death to the dictator", directing their anger atIran's top authority, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Reports of theprotestswere carried by state-affiliated news agencies, while video clips circulated on social media.

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Tehran residents told reportersthat police had stepped up their presence in the capital on Sunday morning.

Watch:Protesters condemn government over its initial denial of downing Ukrainian plane

"Apologise and resign,"Iran's moderate Etemad daily wrote in a banner headline on Sunday, saying the "people's demand" was for those responsible for mishandling theplanecrisis to quit.

All 176 people aboard the flight, many of themIranians with dual citizenship, were killed.

ProtestseruptedafterSaturday'sadmissionthat the military accidentally shot down the Ukraine International Airlinesplaneminutesaftertakeoff on Wednesday whenIranian forces were alert for USreprisalsaftertit-for-tatstrikes.

For days,Iranian officials had vigorously denied it was to blame, even as Canada, which had 57 citizens on the flight, and the United States said their intelligence indicated anIranian missile was to blame, albeit probably fired in error.

Iran's president said it was a "disastrous mistake" and apologised. But a top Revolutionary Guards commander added to public anger about the delayedadmission when he said he had told the authorities a missile hit theplanethe day it crashed.

Another moderate daily Jomhuri-ye Eslami, or the Islamic Republic, wrote in an editorial: "Those who delayed publishing the reason behind theplanecrash and damaged people's trust in the establishment should be dismissed or should resign."

Criticism of the authorities inIranis not unusual, but it tends to stay in narrow boundaries.

The press attacks andprotestsadd to challenges facing the establishment, which in November faced the country's bloodiest unrest since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

As Saturday'sprotestsspread acrossIran, including major cities such as Shiraz, Isfahan, Hamedan and Orumiyeh, USPresident Donald Trump said on Twitter: "We are following yourprotestsclosely, and are inspired by your courage."

"There can not be another massacre of peaceful protesters, nor an internet shutdown. The world is watching," he said, posting his tweets in both Farsi and English.

Britain said its ambassador inIranhad been briefly detained on Saturday by the authorities in Tehran. A news agency said he was detained outside a university for incitingprotests.

Condemning the arrest, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab saidIran"can continue its march towards pariah statusor take steps to de-escalate tensions and engage in a diplomatic path forwards."

ProtestsinsideIranfollowed a build-up of tension betweenIranand the United States, which withdrew from Tehran's nuclear pact with world powers in 2018 and then re-imposed sanctions that have steadily crippled theIranian economy.

On January3, a USdronestrikein Iraq killed prominentIranian commander Qasem Soleimani, responsible for building upIran's network of regional proxy armies in Iraq and beyond, and Tehran responded with missilestrikes on UStargets in Iraq.

No USsoldiers were killed, but in the tense hoursafterthat, the Ukrainian Boeing 737 was cleared to take off from Tehran airport and then brought down by a missile fired in error by an operator who mistook theplanefor an attacker.

[ Relatives of the flight crew members of the plane that crashed in Iran, mourn at a memorial at the Boryspil International airport outside Kiev, Ukraine(Courtesy: Reuters) ]

"Shooting down a civilian aircraft is horrific.Iranmust take full responsibility," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.

Trudeau saidIranian President Hassan Rouhani had committed to collaborating with Canadian investigators, working to de-escalate tensions in the region and continuing dialogue.

Rallying to the establishment,Iranian lawmakers praised the elite force's commanders for courage in admitting the error, according to Fars, a news agency seen as close to the Guards, a parallel military set up to protect the theocratic system.

Iranian officials sought to portray theplanedisaster as a second blow to a mourning nationafterSoleimani's death in a USdronestrike.

Soleimani's funeral had prompted huge public gatherings, which the authorities described a show of national unity. But the displays of emotion have been swiftly overshadowed and protesters on Saturday tore up pictures of the slain general.

Public fury atIran's authorities had grown as questions about theplanecrash mounted.Iranians on social media asked why officials were busy fending off criticism from abroad rather than sympathising with grieving families. Others asked why theplanewas allowed to take off at a time of high tension.