Contrary to what fake news would have you believe, Iranians blame their own government, not the United States.

After the U.S. killed an elite Iranian general, the regime in Tehran hoped to unify its people, many of whom had been protesting against Iran’s government for months. But then Iran’s military accidentally shot down a passenger aircraft and denied it for three days, driving civilian dissenters into uproar against the Islamic Republic instead.

For three straight days, Iranians in several cities have protested their government. Cell phone videos from the capital, Tehran, show demonstrators chanting, “Shame on the Revolutionary Guards.” Many of the protesters are students, furious that the Revolutionary Guards accidentally shot down a passenger jet last week, killing 176, after denying it for three days.

At a weekend vigil for the crash victims, a sign read, “The government’s lies killed us,” and relatives of those killed blamed the regime.

Iranians want peace. Iranians want freedom. Iranians want Democracy. Iranians want to be friends with the United States. If only the Iranian government wanted what it’s own people wanted.

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