Iranians mark ‘Al-Quds Day’ with massive pro-Palestinian rally

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani made a brief appearance at the rally in the capital, Tehran, but did not mention the nuclear talks that have blown past two extensions and entered the 14th day of the current round on Friday.

Iranian protestors wave a Palestinian flag over burning Israeli flags during a demonstration in Tehran on July 25, 2014 to mark the Quds (Jerusalem) Day.

Iranian protesters mark “Al-Quds Day” in Tehran, July 10, 2015.

TEHRAN: Tens of thousands marched in Tehran Friday in annual Quds (Jerusalem) Day demonstrations in support of Palestinians, but Saudi Arabia this year joined arch-foe Israel as the target of protesters. Moreover, massive demonstrations are held in Iraq’s Baghdad and Lebanon.

The crowd in Tehran chanted “Down with United States, Israel and the House of Saud”, and carried placards that declared “Zionist soldiers kill Muslims” and “the Saudi family will fall”. Before the Lausanne understandings were announced in April, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led chants of “Death to America”. “The people of Palestine are oppressed and their lands occupied”, said Ahmad Moghadam, a 67-year-old clerk.

Yemen’s Quds Day rally was held although Yemenis have been suffering from daily Saudi airstrikes since late March.

The senior Iranian official said that the West has been pursuing the ultimate objective of destroying Islam.

Demonstrators also set fire to a large effigy representing the Islamic State, labeled “Saudi’s doll”. Its objective is to express solidarity with Palestinians and to oppose Zionism, including Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem and the Jewish state’s right to exist.

The fierce anti-Western demonstration came as US and Iranian negotiators work around the clock in Vienna to finalize an agreement aimed at curbing Iran’s contested nuclear program.

Quds day – initiated in 1979 by the Islamic Republic’s founder Ayatollah Khomeini – is an annual event of fiery anti-Israel protests in Iran held on the last Friday of Ramadan.

“Our enmity with them is over principles and rooted in the fact that we are after the truth and nations’ freedom, but they seek to exploit nations and put them in chains”, he added.