They bulldoze the site, but examination of the pieces and interviews with eyewitness is revealed the terrible truth.

Thousands gathered around Azari Square in central Tehran last night, chanting Shame on our stupid leaders on guns!

Tanks of Muller's get lost fury about the accidental shooting of the plane and the attempted cover up has morphed into wider protests against the Islamic state.

Footage shot by protesters appears to show the security forces beating people here.

If you look carefully, you could see one with a gun escaping the security forces, a woman shouts.

They fired tear gas at the protesters.

Asadi square death to the dictator Nearby, blood stains the pavement, a voice off camera says.

We've seen seven people shot so far.

It's all blood.

Another woman screams that she's be shot in the leg and there's more blood on the pavement.

A semi official news agency released footage of the British ambassador, who was briefly arrested after being accused of attending a protest on Saturday, he says, he went to a vigil for the dead and left.

When the chanting began.

Today, the foreign secretary summoned the Iranian ambassador to the UK.

Let me be very clear about this.

He was not attending or recording a political protest or demonstration.

His arrest later that day, without grounds or explanation, is a flagrant violation of international law.

None of it deterred students that Sharif University into her this morning.

16 of the dead were graduates who had emigrated.

You took our best and replace them with clerics, they chanted a state TV anchor gallery.

Jabari resigned, saying, It was very hard for me to believe the killing of my countrymen.

I apologize to lying to you on TV for 13 years.

Many Iranians, it seems, are unconvinced by the government line.

If I want to be honest with you and give my opinion for problem is lack of appropriate structures, whether an improvement of defense systems, when how we should tell the truth to the people.

We have absolutely no intention of concealing anything from the people.

Last night, protesters tour down pictures of General Soleimani killed by the Americans in Baghdad.

Any nationalist boosts of the Iranian state has bean destroyed by the shooting down of a civilian aircraft, and the cover up that followed well, our international absolutely.

Hilton is in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

Now.

Lindsay, we've seen President from tweeting in fancy today, presumably hoping that the people and also the government we'll see it.

Is it having any effect?

Well, I think what it shows.

I mean, it's the first time that President Trump has tweeted in any language other than English.

It shows the policy of maximum pressure, and certainly people in authority in Iran will have seen it.

It was a rather odd tweet.

It said that he couldn't care less whether Iran negotiate.

You're not told the government not to shoot protesters.

It also means that the government can say, as it always does it, these protesters are being orchestrated by the Americans.

Maybe what's having Maur impact inside is the number of Iranian celebrities who are talking about what's going on.

The only female medalist from the Olympics, she is defective.

There's been a very significant actress.

She has criticized the government.

Quite a few people are coming out.

I think that will encourage people to stay out on the streets.

You know, the Iranian government in a very difficult position at the moment.

On Thursday, the people foreign ministers want, according the grieving nations Ukraine, Canada, Britain, Afghanistan sweetened the meeting in London and they're gonna be talking about compensation because now the Iranian government has admitted that it shot down.

This place is going to have to pay compensation on people.

One of the things that they're curious about is how poor they are.

And maybe one of the saddest things YSL, these university students who have been forced to leave Iran because there's no future for than the That's why so many of them were on the plane going to Canada.

And that is one of the reasons.

One of the things that's driving middle class people onto the streets total despair that they have any future in Iran.

Lindsay, Thanks very much for joining me now from Tehran is Mohammed Hashemi, a former journalist at the Tehran Times.

Thanks for coming on the program.

Mohammed, let me start off by asking you what Lindsay answered as well just now.

How significant is it that you've got these Iranian stars?

You know whether it's the Olympic gold medalist.

Or indeed, you know, famous actors and news presenters saying enough is enough.

We've had enough of the lies.

Well, as you know, this was a very tragic incident, and their mood now in Iran is that off grief and sadness.

And there has been This is wave off, let's say fury and anger among many people about the way things have unfolded over the past days.

And when these things happens, these feeling off emotions and let's say these feelings off Yuri comes out, I would say they would see such actions on the part off.

Ah, lot off artists on the part of sports, sports, women.

You mentioned the case of Kenya, Eliza, and so on and so forth.

So the mood is now a quiet, emotional and at the same time today, over since Saturday Ah, a lot off newspapers have dedicated their front pages to this story off this tragic the Ukrainian plane crash.

But how many squares?

Okay, let me ask you this.

How different is this than two previous demonstrations and we saw thousands of people on the streets of Tehran a few months ago.

Those demonstrations were shut down the Internet was shut down at the time.

Then, of course, in 2009 hundreds of thousands of people on the streets.

How significant is this particular moment?

But I have talked to some some of my colleagues in other cities, and I have also seen the videos that your reporter also mentioned then B I consult with my colleagues.

They're I mean, they're in terms of size and diversity.

The number of protests there's is not that much in biggest scale.

It's much smaller.

It's scattered in the others.

In other cities, we do not see that much larger scale protests.

And also in Tehran you mentioned housings, but it is very scattered.

And I would say it is right.

Maybe.

But where will this lead?

I mean, do you think this will fizzle out, or does it have some kind of longevity?

Well, one thing that is has been left on noticed is that there is this upcoming parliamentary elections and there are some political forces who wants to, let's say, ride on the wave off this emotional atmosphere, another school in order to score political points.

And at the same time there is this in this, Let's say let's say news coverage on the part of the opposition and news channels from outside that they are hoping this protest would continue.

What?

I would say it, but he's allowed him.

Maybe I assume in in over a week, maybe or less.

OK, Mohammed House for me.

Thanks very much indeed.

Cathy.

Thanks.

We're joining me now from Washington is Giselle Donnelly, who served as director of the House Armed Services Committee and is now a resident fellow at the near conservative think tank, American Enterprise Institute.

Giselle Donnelly.

Clearly, Tehran is at something of a crossroads.

How can the U.

S.

Coax the Iranians into doing what Washington wants?

Well, really think the best thing to do at this point is Ah, let the Iranians try to sort it out for themselves?

Um, clearly the embarrassment and shame you would have to say over the shoot down of the Ukrainian airliner.

Eyes doing Maur Thio discredit the government in the wake of the solar mani killing on to remind Iranians about how not only repressive regime is but really barely competent.

They are, uh, things like air defense.

But can Donald Trump resisted the temptation to get involved because you know, you've seen in production.

Well, he's a notable toe Farsi Speaker.

I'm sure he's been saving this, um, untapped linguistic power for some time.

Um, but Trump is also a constant.

I mean, I don't think he can really influence other to make it better or to make it worse.

Ah, And in fact, the policy of the administration, which clearly remains too, um, use economic and, uh, sanction pressure maximum pressure on the Iranian regime, but really toe diminish The American footprint in the region is probably a deceased in the near term, a path that's likely Thio reap Some rewards may make our allies nervous as cats, but it will tend to undercut the Iranian regimes narrative about the great Satan coming after them.

It's interesting that you suggest that the policy is unchanged because I just wonder what happens here.

For example, I was looking at one of Donald Trump's weekend tweets where he's at the world is watching.

More importantly, the U.

S.

A.

Is watching.

My administration will continue to stand with you.

I mean, what does that mean?

Does it, for example, mean that if anti government protesters are killed by the regime that the U.

S.

Has to intervene in some way and step things up again.

No, it doesn't mean that.

I mean, what's noticeable about this is that Trump has been quite silent, say, when it comes to the protests in Hong Kong or elsewhere around the world.

So the fact that he's actually even saying, you know, going through the we stand with you rhetorical posture, um, is a step forward for him.

And so he clearly feels, I think, personally more animosity toward the Iranian regime than than others and feels that this is a politically safe, a posture for him to take.

He's reassured his base, which very much wants to withdraw from so called endless wars in the Middle East, that he's not going to become embroiled in a larger conflict.

I'm not gonna be Chloe.

Feel safe.

I have not gonna be tempted to thio pursues the regime.

Changes you know, might have been suggested by Mike Pompeo.

When you're saying you know the Iranian people are fed up with the regime, he's gonna let them sort it out themselves.

Well said there may be regime change by other methods he's not going to stop pressuring the regime economically or Geo politically.

Um uh, and he says now he's not really interested in negotiating, so he's willing to let, particularly under the immediate circumstances.

The Iranian regime sort of twist slowly, slowly in the in the wind.

But there is zero prospect of a regime change war of the sort that is more hyperbolic.

Critics would like to imagine she's old only, thank you very much for joining us.