Nov 18 (Reuters) – Videos showing the former home of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s first leader, burning have been widely circulated on social media, with activists saying it was set on fire by protesters.
Reuters identified the location where two music videos were filmed using the arches and distinctive buildings as landmarks.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency, however, denied that Khomeini’s house was set on fire, saying a small number of people had gathered outside the building.
Videos circulating on social media show dozens of people cheering as a fire breaks out in a building.
Reuters could not independently verify the dates the videos were filmed. Activist network 1500Tasvir said the incident happened on Thursday evening in Khomein, Khomeini’s hometown, south of the capital Tehran.
Since Khomeini’s death in 1989, the house has been turned into a museum.
“The report is a lie,” Tasnim news agency said, adding, “the doors of the house of the late founder of the great revolution are open to the public.”
His successor, Ayatollah Ali Khameini, has faced a vast protest movement since the death in mid-September of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, after her arrest by the morality police.
Other videos posted by 1500Tasvir claim to show protesters in several towns in the rebel province of Sistan-Balochistan, including the capital Zahedan, where protesters chanted “Death to Khamenei”, and in Chabahar, where protesters abducted and stepped on an avenue sign bearing the name of Ayatollah Khomeini.
Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of these videos. (Written by Michael Georgy, French version Augustin Turpin, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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