Honcharuk's resignation offer and Khamenei's sermon, 18 January 2020

What was the political picture on 18 January 2020, after a day of turbulence in both Kyiv and Tehran? Two developments reported on 17 January 2020 set the tone.

In Ukraine, Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk submitted his resignation. The move followed the leak earlier that week of an audio clip in which he allegedly criticised the economic policies of President Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelensky subsequently announced that Honcharuk would be allowed to keep his position.

In Iran, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei delivered a Friday sermon, his first in eight years. He defended the Revolutionary Guards over the accidental killing of passengers aboard Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752. He also praised Operation Martyr Soleimani, saying it had given the United States a "slap on the face". The sermon came as public anger mounted against the Iranian government over its handling of the Flight 752 case.

Protests over Flight 752

The aircraft was shot down by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on 8 January 2020. The revelation prompted anti-government protests in Iran, which formed part of wider clashes that month following the crackdown on the 2019 Iranian protests.

For Ukraine, the two stories ran in parallel: a government reshuffle averted at the top in Kyiv, and a Ukrainian-registered airline's downed flight at the centre of political anger in Iran.