Iran has commended Aaron Bushnell, an active-duty member of the US Air Force, for his self-immolation protest against Israel's actions in the besieged Gaza Strip, calling him "the voice of awakened consciences in the United States."
Nasser Kan’ani, spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry, praised Bushnell's act of protest in a statement posted on X on Tuesday.
Bushnell set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C., as a demonstration against the US administration's support for Israel's campaign.
Kan'ani stated, "The self-immolation of Aaron Bushnell, a US Air Force officer, in protest against the ongoing crimes of the Zionists in Gaza, underscores the deep concern among awakened consciences in the US regarding their government's complicity in the Palestinian genocide."
"Bushnell's actions echo the outcry of awakened consciences in the US against their government's support for the Palestinian genocide," Kan'ani added.
Clad in US military attire, Bushnell ignited himself on Sunday after dousing himself in a flammable liquid. In a video recorded before the act, he expressed his refusal to be complicit in genocide and condemned the normalization of such actions by the ruling class.
"I will no longer be complicit in genocide. I’m about to engage in an extreme act of protest, but compared to what people are experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers, it’s not extreme at all," Bushnell stated in the video.
Bushnell was engulfed in flames for approximately one minute before law enforcement officials intervened and extinguished the fire.
Hamas, in response, held the Biden administration responsible for Bushnell's death, emphasizing the administration's support for Israel's actions in Gaza.
Additionally, in December, a female protester, holding a Palestinian flag, also self-immolated outside an Israeli consulate building in Atlanta, marking another extreme act of political protest against Israeli actions.
