TEHRAN: Thousands of Iranians protested on Friday in Tehran and other cities, condemning Israeli attacks on Lebanon and Gaza, according to AFP journalists and state media.
Officials had urged citizens to demonstrate in solidarity with Hezbollah and to denounce the “barbaric crimes” of Israel in Palestine, as reported by the official IRNA news agency. Hezbollah is part of the “Axis of Resistance,” a coalition of Iran-aligned groups in the Middle East that have targeted Israel and US forces in support of Hamas.
In Tehran, following Friday prayers, protesters gathered around Enghelab Square, displaying portraits of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and waving Palestinian and Hezbollah flags. Chants of “Israel is destroyed. Lebanon is victorious” echoed through the crowd, which also burned Israeli and US flags.
State television broadcast images of similar protests in Semnan, Qom, Kashan, Kermanshah, Shiraz, and Bandar Abbas.
The recent conflict escalated after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, leading to intensified exchanges of fire with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon since Monday have resulted in hundreds of casualties, marking the deadliest violence in the region since the 1975-1990 civil war.
As tensions rise, analysts suggest that Iran is carefully balancing its support for Hezbollah while avoiding a full-scale conflict that could play into its adversaries’ strategies.
