As demonstrators in Iran protested the government’s response to the 8 January shoot-down of a Ukrainian passenger plane, Prime Minister Netanyahu asserted that “Iran lied. Just as they lied about their secret nuclear program, they are lying now about the downing of the Ukrainian aircraft... They knew that it was an unintentional downing, but they lied intentionally. They deceived the entire world”. He went on to underscore that the demonstrators “deserve freedom, liberty and the ability to live in security and peace, all of which the regime denies them”.