(Tehran) Some thousands of people gathered in the main cities of Iran to greet and support the unprecedented attack launched on the night of Saturday to Sunday against Israel, the sworn enemy of the Islamic Republic for 45 years.
In Tehran, demonstrators gathered in Palestine Square in the center shortly after the announcement of the launch of Operation “Honest Promise” by the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological army of power.
“Death to Israel”, “Death to America”, they chanted, using traditional slogans since the Islamic revolution of 1979, noted an AFP journalist.
Protesters waved flags of Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran.
PHOTO MAJID ASGARIPOUR, VIA REUTERS
A man holds up a poster of General Qassem Soleimani, killed in 2020 by an American strike in Iraq.
Some of them exhibited the portrait of General Qassem Soleimani, the architect of Iranian military operations in the Middle East, killed in January 2020 by an American strike in Iraq.
Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had promised to “punish” Israel after the strike blamed on Israel targeted the Iranian consulate in Damascus and killed seven Iranian soldiers on 1er april.
“Slap”
A huge banner had been hanging for several days on a building in Palestine Square to call, in Hebrew, on Israelis to “take shelter”.
During the night, a new mural was unveiled on the square. It shows a torn Israeli flag with missiles in the background, with the threatening slogan: “The next slap will be more violent.”
Brief rallies were also held outside the British embassy, in the absence of representations from the United States and Israel, two countries with which Iran does not have diplomatic relations.
PHOTO ATTA KENARE, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Protesters wave Palestinian and Iranian flags outside the UK embassy in Tehran.
Calm reigned in other districts of the immense capital, where queues formed at certain gas stations to fill the tanks as a precaution.
In Isfahan (center), people gathered around the grave of General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, the highest ranking of the seven members of the Revolutionary Guards killed in the Iranian consulate in Damascus.
The launch of drones and missiles towards Israel was also welcomed around the tomb of General Soleimani in Kerman (south), as well as in the cities of Tabriz, Kermanshah and Ahvaz.
In recent days, many Iranians have worried about the growing risks of a direct war between their country and Israel.
“More serious”
Questioned on Saturday by AFP before the strikes, Maryam, a 43-year-old employee, said she hoped that a “compromise” could be found “to prevent a war from starting and innocent people from dying”.
“God willing, our government will prioritize reason over emotion. If so, there should be no conflict,” also wished Salehi, a 75-year-old retired civil servant.
But some Tehranese hoped for a stronger reaction from the authorities than during previous assassinations of Iranian soldiers attributed to Israel.
“This time we must respond with more seriousness and determination,” reacted Youssef, 37, a private sector employee.
For Ehsan, a 43-year-old university professor, it is “logical” to retaliate because the Israelis “attacked an Iranian diplomatic building” in Damascus. “War is always bad and worrying, but it is sometimes necessary to achieve peace,” he added.
In this climate of worry and uncertainty, the rial, the national currency, fell to a historic low on Saturday, at around 650,000 to the dollar on the parallel market.