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Iran’s president and foreign minister were among the senior officials who joined thousands of people marching through downtown Tehran on Friday, showing defiance as U.S.-Israeli airstrikes continued, sending up plumes of smoke not far from a crowd according to videos posted online.
Iran marks “Quds [Jerusalem] Day” on the final Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in solidarity with Palestinians, and that was the occasion for the large rally in Tehran, but the top officials showing up was a clear signal to the U.S. and Israel that their ongoing strikes had not dislodged the nearly 50-year-old theocracy that rules Iran.
New Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei was not seen during the rally, and there have been rumors this week that he may have been seriously wounded — possibly even left in a coma — in the same strike that killed his father and predecessor on Feb. 28. But Iran watchers say, from past experience, it would be unusual for the supreme leader to appear in such an open forum as a public street rally.
“Today is Quds Day in Iran, and despite the brutal attacks carried out today by the Zionist regime and the United States, we are witnessing a massive turnout — millions of people — not just in Tehran, but across all cities,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a video posted online, which showed him walking amidst flag-waving Iranians. “This demonstrates the firm resolve of the Iranian people in support of the Islamic Republic, the cause of Jerusalem, Palestine, and all the principles we have upheld over the years that have brought us to this point. God willing, we will continue with the same strength and power, and we will compel our enemies to acknowledge the strength of the Iranian people.”
President Masoud Pezeshkian was also seen in videos walking through Tehran with other rally attendees, while another clip showed the head of Iran’s powerful Judiciary, Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, leading a prayer.
Speaking with a reporter surrounded by other people during the march, Mohseni-Ejei was interrupted briefly by the sound of another U.S. or Israeli strike hitting nearby.
As he was saying Iran’s leaders “want to stand with the people, beside the people, until the last breath and the last moment,” a loud boom is head and he and the others around him look toward the apparent explosion, before he continues: “The people are not intimidated by these enemy attacks. They take precautions, but under this rain and under these missile bombardments, they will in no way retreat from resistance.”
