Iranians Rally in Support of Palestinian Cause

Iranians staged demonstrations on Friday on the occasion of the International Quds Day to express support for the Palestinian cause. 
The rallies started at 10 am local time (06:30 GMT) in Tehran and other cities across the country.
Every year, on the last Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan, processions are held to support the Palestinian people’s resistance against Israel and the struggle to liberate their territories.
The annual event was held this year on the central slogan of “Palestine, the axis of Muslim world’s unity, Quds on the threshold of freedom.”
More than 4,000 reporters and photographers, including 150 from foreign media, covered the rallies in Iran. 
Besides Iranian Muslims, followers of other religions attended the rallies along with their leaders. 
Demonstrators carried placards and shouted slogans in support of the people of Palestine and staged street performances on Islamic themes. 
The ground force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps also displayed some of its equipment in a square in Tehran, including a remarkable armored car. 
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf delivered a speech on the occasion in Tehran, where he described Palestine as a hub of defending Islamic values. 
“The Quds Day proved to us that the way of success, progress and unity for us is the way of resistance,” he said. 
Participants in the event also expressed their positions in a seven-article statement. 
They stressed that the demonstrations are a symbol of the Muslim world’s unity and determination in supporting Palestine and the liberty of Beit-ul-Moqaddas, as well as a strong backing for Iran’s national security. 
The text condemned the recent brutal assaults against prayers in Al-Aqsa Mosque that killed and injured a group of Muslims. 
It also voiced dismay about the silence of international and rights assemblies with regard to Israeli crimes, calling on the United Nations and other global organizations to dismiss or suspend the membership of the Zionist regime. 
The statement warned regional countries against being lured by the Western and Zionist promises, adhere to the principles of good neighborliness and avoid any provocative behavior. 
Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian also posted a tweet to mark the global day, noting that the freedom of Quds is not limited to the borders of Islam, “but it is at the meeting point of the honor and humanity of the freedom seekers of the world.”
“This year, the Zionists, in addition to facing the crisis of legitimacy and fear from the perspective of internal collapse, they should also face the fact that there are hopes for the completion of convergence among Islamic countries, which is the universal cause behind World Quds Day,” he added. 
Tensions between Israel and resistance forces have intensified in recent weeks, following the violence in Al Aqsa Mosque. 
Israel has launched airstrikes on Syria, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip amid rocket fires by Palestinian resistance groups toward the occupied territories.
The Israeli regime is also facing weekly domestic protests for months against the government’s contentious judicial overhaul plans.