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In his first Friday sermon delivery since 2012, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has defended the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) amid a growing backlash after it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane, killing all 176 people onboard.

Khamenei’s address comes as Iran and its rulers face intense pressure at home and abroad after the United States assassinated General Qassem Soleimani, former leader of the elite Quds Force, and the eruption of public anger at Iran’s military after its accidental downing of the commercial airliner soon after it took off from Tehran on January 8. 

He described the crash as a “bitter tragedy” and also claimed that “Iran’s enemies” used the crash and the military’s admission to “weaken” the Revolutionary Guard. 

“The plane crash was a bitter accident, it burned through our heart,” Khamenei said.

“But some tried to . . . portray it in a way to forget the great martyrdom and sacrifice” of Soleimani, he added, referring to the slain head of the IRGC’s foreign operations arm.

“Our enemies were as happy about the plane crash as we were sad . . . happy that they found something to question the Guard, the armed forces, the system.”

Thousands of worshippers gathered inside a large prayer hall in central Tehran to listen to Khamenei’s address. They packed the area and streets outside the building, chanting “Death to America”.

After denying a role in the plane crash, the Revolutionary Guards, an elite military force answering directly to Khamenei that acts as guardian of the Islamic Republic, admitted on January 11 that one of its air defence operators mistakenly shot down Ukraine Airlines International flight 752.

Iranian authorities said earlier this week that a number of people had been arrested over the Ukrainian airliner incident.

But the downing of the plane and belated admission triggered large protests in Tehran and other cities, with the authorities responding by deploying riot police outside universities, where many students had protested.

Video footage posted online showed protesters were beaten and also recorded gunshots, teargas and blood on the streets. Iran’s police denied firing at protesters and said officers had been ordered to show restraint.

In his sermon, Khamenei also showed support for Iran’s missile strikes on US targets in Iraq in retaliation for the killing of Soleimeni, saying they showed Iran had divine support in delivering a “slap on the face” to a world power.

“The fact that Iran has the power to give such a slap to a world power shows the hand of God,” said Khamenei, adding that the US killing of Soleimani, showed Washington’s “terrorist nature”.

The US said on Thursday that 11 of its troops were treated for concussion after the missile attacks, after initially saying that none of its forces were wounded. —Al Jazeera