This Saturday, thousands of Iranians marked the anniversary of the 1979 takeover of the US embassy in Tehran by shouting “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” as they denounced Washington’s support for Israel in its war against Hamas.
The demonstration, called by the Iranian state, took place in the fourth week of the war between Israel and Hamas. The Hamas surprise attack on October 7 killed some 1,400 people in Israel and took more than 240 hostage. As a result of Israel’s retaliatory operation in the Gaza Strip, more than nine thousand people were killed.
Protesters gathered in front of the former US embassy in Tehran, the capital of Iran, with American and Israeli flags burning.
They trampled images of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden, while others carried signs calling the US the “Great Demon”. A banner on the main stand read: “We are trampling America underfoot.”
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf addressed the crowd, criticizing US support for Israel.
“We consider the United States to be one of the main perpetrators of all these crimes in the Gaza Strip and against the Palestinians,” he said.
Qalibaf said Hamas’ attack on Israel caused “irreparable” damage to the intelligence services and security of the Israeli state.
In a statement issued on behalf of the protesters at the end of the demonstration, they called for an “immediate ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip and warned the US, UK and France that the crisis could spread to the region. The statement concluded with a promise that the Iranians would support Palestine “until final victory.”
The demonstration began in Palestine Square in central Tehran. The protesters walked about two kilometers until they reached the former US Embassy complex. State television showed footage of similar demonstrations in other Iranian cities.
The annual demonstration is a hotbed of anti-Western sentiment and usually draws angry crowds.
On Wednesday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei criticized the US for supporting Israel, saying the Jewish state would be paralyzed without American support.
In his address, he called for an end to the war between Israel and Hamas, and called on Muslim-majority countries to end economic cooperation with the Jewish state.
Iran is a known supporter of anti-Israel militant groups such as Palestinian Hamas and Islamic Jihad, as well as Lebanese Hezbollah.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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