Angry protesters hit the streets of Iran on Friday after a two-year pause driven by the coronavirus pandemic. They demanded the immediate destruction of Israel, the U.S. and the UK along with anyone who even dares to speak favorably of the Jewish state.
Paramilitary Revolutionary Guard commander Gen. Hossein Salami personally promised “painful” responses against anyone who stood in the Islamic republic’s way.
“Stop your vicious deeds. You know well that we are people of action and reaction,” Salami told marchers in Tehran as he railed against Israel and its supporters.
“Our responses are painful. You create conditions for your own destruction. We will not leave you alone …You know better than me what will befall you if you take evil action.”
AP reports Iran has been marking the last Friday of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan as Jerusalem Day since the start of its 1979 Islamic Revolution led by the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
It is also known as Quds Day, after the Arabic name for Jerusalem.
Demonstrators chanted the “death to Israel,” and “death to America,” slogans that have become tradition in mass rallies in Iran since its revolution. They also set fire to American, British and Israeli flags before jumping on them to vent their fury.
Iranians prepare to set an Israeli flag on fire next to a picture of late Iranian general Qasem Soleimnai during a rally marking al-Quds (Jerusalem) day in Tehran, on April 29, 2022. (Getty Images)
State TV later showed a variety of ballistic missiles on display at the rally, which it described as “Israel hitters.”
Iran does not recognize Israel and supports Hamas and Hezbollah, terrorist groups that oppose it.
State news agency IRNA quoted a general of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s expeditionary force, known as the Quds force, as saying Iran supports any groups ready to fight Israel.
Demonstrators burn representations of Israeli, British and U.S. flags during the annual pro-Palestinians Al-Quds, or Jerusalem, Day rally in Tehran, Iran, Friday, April 29, 2022. Iran does not recognize Israel and supports Hamas and Hezbollah, militant groups that oppose it. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Iranians set an Israeli flag and a cartoon picture of U.S. president Joe Biden on fire during a rally marking al-Quds Day (Jerusalem) day, in street at the capital Tehran, on April 29, 2022. (AFP via Getty Images)
A demonstrator chants slogans while attending the annual pro-Palestinian Al-Quds, or Jerusalem, Day rally in Tehran, Iran, Friday, April 29, 2022. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
“We support any front that is formed against this criminal regime, and we will support any community that is ready to fight this criminal regime,” Gen. Esmail Ghaani said at a speech in the northeastern city of Mashhad.
Many high-ranking Iranian officials attended the rally in Tehran, including President Ebrahim Raisi and General Salami.