Iran protesters set fire to Khomeini's ancestral home

The ancestral home of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini that has functioned as a museum to the late Supreme Leader was set on fire by anti-regime protesters who continued their nearly two months of defiance against the hardline rule of Iran's theocratic rulers.

Videos posted to social media showed the house in Khomein in the western province of Markazi on fire as crowds marched past and cheered.

Journalist David Patrikarakos, who has written a book on Iran's nuclear ambitions, wrote on Twitter that the fire represents an "attack" that challenges "the essence of the republic itself." 

Iranians have been in the streets for two months in protests led by women united by the protest slogan, "Freedom, women, life." The initial catalyst for the movement was the September 16 death of a student, Jina Mahsa Amini, at the hands of morality police ostensibly offended by her ill-fitted hijab.

The protest movement represents the biggest threat the regime has faced since seizing power in 1979. Initially fueled by the strict rules of the clerics as it concerns women's dress, the protests have morphed into something much bigger that potentially could threaten the country's religious rulers and their grasp on power.

What do we know so far?

Iranian state news agency Tasnim denied the late cleric's showpiece home was on fire.

Tasnim claimed "the report is a lie." The Iranian outlet added that "the doors of the house of the late founder of the great revolution are open to the public."

By contrast, both AFP and Reuters have verified the location. Reuters reported the activist network 1500Tasvir said the incident occurred Thursday night.

Khomeini was born in the home in the town at the turn of the last century. His surname is taken from the town's name.

The house became a museum to commemorate the cleric who became known as the country's Supreme Leader.

It is unclear what damage there may be to the site.

Who was Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini?

As a cleric, Khomeini was harshly critical of Iran's then leader, shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, who enjoyed the support of Washington. In 1979, Khomeini returned from France to Iran to take the helm of the Islamic revolution unfolding in his country.

Known as the "Supreme Leader" in life, Khomeini died in 1989. He remains a figure of great reverence among the ruling clerical elite and the regime's supporters, even under the Supreme Leader who succeeded him, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

During the protests that have consumed Iran in the last two months, portraits of Khomeini have been set alight and scribbled on in acts of defiance.

ar/jcg (AFP, Reuters)