The Khomeini House Museum, once the home of the Islamic Republic's founder and first Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, was set on fire by protestors on Thursday night, according to a video shared by Iran International.
The Khomeini house museum, which was originally the house of the father of the Islamic Republic’s founder, was set on fire on Thursday evening. pic.twitter.com/eRGhYhqn6b
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) November 18, 2022
Shortly after the arson attack against the site, according to a video originally published by 1500 Tasvir, protesters set fire to the Shia Seminary of Qom.
اینم واسه انجام وظیفه، حوزه علمیه قم#مهسا_امینی pic.twitter.com/kGPcf8FbaZ
— +۱۵۰۰تصویر (@1500tasvir) November 18, 2022
Iranian officials deny any harm
The semi-official Tasnim news agency denied Khomeini's house was set on fire, saying a small number of people had gathered outside the house.
"The report is a lie," said the Tasnim news agency, adding: "the doors of the house of the late founder of the great revolution are open to the public."
Rebellion against the late Khomeini
Although he died in 1989, Khomeini as a cultural figure is very much alive in the Islamic Republic. Schoolchildren in Iran are familiar with him from a young age as most classrooms hang a picture of the late Khomeini as well as the current Supreme Leader Khameini.
An Iranian TikTok user showed the world in late October that even images of classrooms printed in textbooks had photos of the supreme leaders hanging on the walls. What is more, the textbooks themselves devoted pages to glorifying the regime founder.
The same week that the TikTok video went viral, students in Iran began their own rebellion. Children could be seen destroying textbooks with Khomeini on them - ripping photos out and stepping on them. Girls were also seen removing their headscarves in mass protest when officials from the Iranian Ministry of Education visited their schools.
The current wave of anti-regime protests constitutes one of the boldest challenges to Iran's clerical rulers since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, with nationwide protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of morality police for not wearing "appropriate attire."
Reuters contributed to this report.