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Honcharuk's resignation offer and Iran's Flight 752 anger
Summary
A look back at two political stories from the days before 20 January 2020, in Kyiv and in Tehran.
What was happening in Ukrainian and Iranian politics by 20 January 2020? Two developments from 17 January framed the days that followed.
In Kyiv, Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk submitted his resignation on 17 January. The move came after an audio clip was leaked earlier that week in which he allegedly criticised President Volodymyr Zelensky's economic policies. Zelensky subsequently announced that Honcharuk was allowed to keep his position.
In Iran, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei delivered a Friday sermon on 17 January, 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, which he described as a slap on the face for the United States. His remarks came as public anger mounted against the Iranian government over its handling of the Flight 752 disaster.
The protests behind the anger
The anger over the aircraft was expressed in anti-government protests. They formed part of wider clashes in January 2020 that followed the crackdown on the 2019 Iranian protests. The demonstrations took place after it emerged that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had shot down the aircraft on 8 January 2020.
The two stories were separate, but both put political leadership under pressure in the days before 20 January 2020: one over an internal leak, the other over a downed passenger flight.
