Iranian protesters set fire to Ayatollah Khomeini’s house

SMA NEWS – TEHRAN
Protesters in Iran have set fire to the ancestral home of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Images posted on social media show part of the structure in the city of Khomein being set ablaze.
News agencies have verified the videos’ location, but regional authorities denied there had been an arson attack.
Ayatollah Khomeini is said to have been born in the house, which is now a museum that commemorates his life.
Khomeini was the leader of Iran’s Islamic revolution in 1979, which deposed the country’s pro-Western leader, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and ushered in the theocratic state that still exists today.
He served as the first supreme leader of Iran until his death in 1989, which is still marked by a day of mourning each year.
Social media videos from Khomein show dozens of people cheering as the fire breaks out. An activist network said the footage was taken on Thursday evening.
However, Khomein county’s press office denied there had been any attack to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
The agency said a small number of people had gathered outside the house and later shared a video of the house, saying it was open to “pilgrims and lovers of the deceased Imam”.
“The doors of the house of the late founder of the great revolution are open to the public,” the agency added.