On International Quds Day
Millions in Iran March in Solidarity With Palestine
On Friday 28 March large rallies were held in Iran and several other parts of the world to express solidarity with the Palestinian people on International Quds Day.
According to Iranian officials, millions of Iranians participated in the rallies which were held in more than 900 cities and towns across Iran to mark the day. The largest rallies were held in the capital city of Tehran and other major cities such as Isfahan, and Mashhad.
In his message on the occasion, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei asserted that his country would always support Palestinians and will never give up the cause. He said that rallies during Quds Day have been a “source of honor for the Iranian nation” and noted that this years’ rallies have more significance given the continued Israeli genocide in Gaza. He hoped the rallies this year would be “the best, most glorious, most honorable.”
International Quds Day has been celebrated on the last Friday of Ramadan every year since 1979 to express solidarity with the Palestine resistance and to oppose the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.
Joint naval parade marking International Quds Day
Naval forces from Iran, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen held a joint parade on Thursday 27 March on the eve of International Quds Day on Friday to express their solidarity with Palestinians and to warn Israel against further aggressions in the region.
The joint naval parade kicked off simultaneously in the Persian Gulf, the Makran coastal region in the Arabian Sea, and in the Caspian sea areas. According to a Press TV report, nearly 3,000 navy vessels took part in the naval exercise.
Commander of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy, Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri stated that the “parade mainly aims to display the maritime capabilities of the resistance front and to convey a message to the wicked and oppressive Israeli regime,” Press TV reported.
Israel is the US’ killing machine
The central rally was held in Tehran. It was attended by most of the state officials including President Masoud Pezeshkian. Several international representatives, such as the Ambassador of Venezuela José Silva Aponte also participated in the rally.
It was addressed by speaker of Iran’s parliament Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf. During his address to the hundreds of thousands attending the rally, Qalibaf questioned the world’s inability to stop Israel from deliberately violating the ceasefire agreements and killing innocent children and women. He appreciated Yemen’s attempts to respond to Israel’s blatant violations of the ceasefire norms, calling it heroic.
Israel launched a massive war against Palestinians in Gaza in October 2023. It ignored repeated UN calls for a ceasefire for over a year, killing over 47,000 people and displacing almost the entire population of pre-war Gaza. In January, it finally agreed to the terms proposed by the Palestinian resistance and signed a ceasefire deal. However, after committing violation after violation, on 18 March, it terminated the ceasefire and restarted full-scale aerial bombings of Gaza. The official number of Palestinians killed in the Israeli war so far has crossed 50,000.
Qalibaf claimed that operation Al-Aqsa Flood, launched by Hamas in October 2023, was a legitimate response to decades of Israeli occupation and killings of innocent Palestinians. He claimed that Israel’s oppressive and criminal regime is protected by the US without which it won’t survive in the face of the resistance.
“The hegemonic system has survived by oppressing humanity, and the Zionist regime is in fact criminal America’s killing machine,” Qalibaf said.
Iran rejects US pressure and warns of retaliation
The speaker of Iranian parliament also warned the US that aggression against his country, in whatever form, would be responded to severely and all its military bases in the region would be destabilized.
Qalibaf also reiterated his country’s position on the offer of talks from US president Donald Trump, claiming his letter offered nothing about the withdrawal of US sanctions against his country. He stated that “America’s attitude in the letter is one of bullying,” adding that the US “can neither bully nor deceive the Iranian nation.”
Quds Day rallies were also organized in different parts of the world including in the Arab world, in India, South Africa, and in various countries in Latin America.
 | A guest post by
|