Iranians rally to support military operation against Israel

China

Iranians rally to support military operation against Israel

2024-10-02 09:21 Last Updated At：15:17

Residents in multiple cities of Iran rallied to voice their support for the country after it carried out a massive missile attack on Israel on Tuesday evening local time.

Thousands of Iranian residents rallied on Tuesday evening in the Palestine Square in Tehran, the capital of Iran, holding national flags of Iran, Palestine and Lebanon and chanting slogans.

Some of them said that the missile attack on Israeli military facilities was Iran's exercise of its legitimate right of self-defense, aimed at safeguarding Iran's national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and avenging the deaths of people who were killed by Israel, including former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

"Israel has committed a lot of crimes this year, killing many women and children and forcing civilians to be displaced. If Israel reacts to Iran's actions, Iran will respond again and completely crush Israel," said Ali, one of the residents rallying to support Iran's missile attack against Israel.

Locals also said the United States has been fully supporting Israel since the outbreak of the current round of the Palestine-Israel conflict, and that Israel has become a "base" for the United States to protect its own interests in the Middle East, noting the United States is disrupting regional situation and is an accomplice to Israel's war crimes.

"The United States is deceiving us. The United States has promised Iran peace and a ceasefire in the region as long as Iran does not launch attacks," said Ehsan, a resident.

"The action demonstrates that Iran can respond forcefully to the United States and Israel if it is willing to do so," said Mohammed Reza, another resident.

The military action is Iran's response to a series of Israeli crimes and also reflects Iran's support for the Palestinian and Lebanese people, according to Iranians in the rally.

They also said that if Israel once again resorts to striking regional countries, Iran's response will inevitably be fiercer.

Returning to full-scale US-Iran war would be "catastrophic": UN official

Returning to a full-scale war would have catastrophic consequences, a UN spokesman said at a press briefing at the UN headquarters in New York on Monday. Recent tensions over the Strait of Hormuz have exposed the deep divisions between the United States and Iran, further heightening uncertainty over their fragile ceasefire.

In response to a media query regarding the claims by U.S. President Donald Trump that the weeks-long ceasefire with Iran is on "massive life support," Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, stressed the need for concerted efforts to stay committed to negotiations.

He said that the United Nations will not be swayed by the rhetoric of the parties involved in the U.S.-Iran negotiations, and its core objective is to push all parties to remain committed to negotiations.

"We have tried over the years in all of our diplomatic efforts not to listen too much to the rhetoric by any particular side involved in negotiations. What we want to do is make sure that the parties themselves remain committed to negotiations. Certainly, we appreciate the role that Pakistan has been playing as a mediator, and we want the efforts to continue. A return to full-scale fighting would be, as the Secretary-General has repeatedly said, catastrophic," he said. Both U.S. and Iranian forces have fired shots at each other in the Strait of Hormuz since the ceasefire took effect earlier last month.