In their abiding faith that the Soleimani killing had to be a disaster, the media played along with the regime’s show of mourning, and some commentators even talked as if Soleimani was a beloved national and national icon, like the Beatles and Winston Churchill rolled into one. It turns out that not all Iranians admired the terror mastermind, and his killing combined with the accidental downing of the jet airliner unleashed anti-regime protests over the weekend. Jim mentioned this in the Jolt today, but the scenes of Iranian students jeering people for stepping on American and Israeli flags are extraordinary:

Watch how Iranian students refuse to step on American & the flag of Israel. This should embarrassed Iranian regime & their propaganda funeral for #Soleimani where people were told to chant “Death To America”.

Now people in Iran chanting “Death to Islamic Republic dictatorship.” pic.twitter.com/hTxDuxZeaB — Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) January 12, 2020