TEHRAN - Muslim nations are now more determined than ever in their efforts to liberate all of the occupied territories, including occupied holy Qods, according to Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast. 

Mehmanparast made the remarks in an interview with IRNA on Wednesday, two days ahead of International Qods Day, which will be observed on August 26.  

International Qods Day is a day of solidarity with Palestine observed on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan. Anti-Zionist demonstrations are held on Qods Day all over the world, especially in Iran, where the event was inaugurated after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The late Imam Khomeini, the Founder of the Islamic Republic, made the proposal to establish an international day of solidarity with Palestinians in August of that year. 

Mehmanparast called the Palestine issue one of the most serious issues in the Middle East. 

The pro-democracy uprisings occurring in the region will create a situation where the people will be able to determine their own destiny and governments will no longer be subservient to the hegemonistic powers and the countries which support the Zionist regime, he stated.  

He went on to say that the Zionists are worried about the grass-roots uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa, adding that a high turnout by Muslims for the demonstrations on Qods Day will lower the morale of the Zionists. 

Elsewhere in his remarks, he stated that the Zionist regime is experiencing internal problems and is seeking to divert attention from them through launching indiscriminate attacks. 

MP Mohammad-Reza Bahonar also said on Wednesday that the Iranian people will turn out in large numbers for the demonstrations on Friday. 

“With the overthrow of dictatorial governments in the region, the collapse of the Zionist regime is approaching,” added Bahonar, who is the deputy Majlis speaker for supervisory affairs. 

On Wednesday, individuals, organizations, and political groupings called for a massive turnout for the demonstrations on Friday. 

The Joint Chiefs of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, the Qom Seminary Teachers Society, the Islamic Society of Engineers, the Islamic Revolution Devotees Society, the Ahl al-Bayt World Assembly, Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi, Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani, and Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Mahdavi Kani issued separate statements inviting Muslims to participate in the demonstrations on Qods Day.

In his statement, Ayatollah Mahdavi Kani said that the Iranian nation has isolated the Zionist regime in the international arena and has tightened the noose around it.  

He also called on the Iranian people and other Muslims across the world to turn out in large numbers for the demonstrations to express their wrath over the despicable actions of the United States, Britain, and the Zionist regime.