TEHRAN - People poured into streets in large numbers in different cities across Iran to mark International Quds Day on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan.

Iranian officials and people showed their solidarity with Palestinians who have been under Israeli occupation for seven decades.

The demonstrators issued a statement insisting that the only remedy for the old Palestinian wound is “the return of all Palestinian refugees from across the world”, holding of a comprehensive and free referendum for shaping the future of Palestine.

The marchers also insisted on the need for resistance by all Palestinian groups against “the child killer Zionist regime”. They also voiced their strong opposition against the “Judaization” of Palestinian lands.

The demonstrators also called on regional and international bodies to adopt a strong stance against the Israeli policies in the occupied territories.

Marchers, carrying placards reading “Death to Israel”, cried out that “Palestine must be liberated”. The people also chanted slogans against the U.S. and Saudi officials.

Resentment against Saudi and U.S. officials comes after Donald Trump’s visit to Riyadh in May during which he signed a 110 billion dollars arms deal with Saudi Arabia and also the Saudi kingdom introduced a land, air and sea blockade against Qatar, pushing the Arab world into a new era of uncertainty. 
  
Participating in the rallies, President Hassan Rouhani said the people’s message on the Quds Day is hatred toward the Zionist regime of Israel and support for the oppressed Palestinians.

Ali Akbar Salehi, the director of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said that plots to undermine and marginalize the Palestinian issue has failed.

Ali Akbar Velayati, the senior foreign policy advisor to the Leader, said slogans such as “Death to Israel” by the Muslims during the Quds Day rallies have shaken bases of “injustice oppression” being practiced by this “illegitimate and child killer regime”.

Expediency Council secretary Mohsen Rezaei said that the Quds Day is symbol of “fight against oppression”.

The Quds Day rallies bears the message that the Islamic community has not and will not bow to oppression, he added.

Masoumeh Ebtekar, chief of Iran's Department of Environment, said that Quds Day is an opportunity not to forget injustices being practiced against the Palestinians.

IRGC Commander Mohammad Ali Jafari expressed hope that such rallies would lead to liberation of al-Aqsa Mosque and annihilation of Israel. 

Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, said sympathy with Muslims is Quds Day and not the Saudi blockade of Qatar or the Riyadh summit in May which was attended by Donald Trump.

Defense Minister Hossein Dehqan called the “fake Zionist regime” the source of “instability, insecurity, and conflict in the Islamic world”.

‘Israel is mother of terrorism’

Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani said the recent history knows “nothing more evil than the Zionist regime”. Larijani also called Israel the “mother of terrorism”.

Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri said, “The Zionist regime is the main enemy of Islamic countries and Muslims.”

Judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani also said Quds Day marks campaign against arrogant powers and is not just restricted to the agonies of the Palestinians.
 
In Tehran samples of the medium-range missiles that Iran fired against Daesh in Syria on June 18 were also put on display. Also, a Shahab 3 missile was put on display.

NA/PA