In Isfahan, the former capital of the Persian empire, thousands of people who attended Friday prayers and the subsequent protest participated in the funeral of an Iranian who died in an Israeli attack, as shown in a video shared by the Tehran Times.
A group of men was observed transporting a coffin covered with Iranian flags and featuring a picture of a soldier in uniform. Behind them, men, women, and children trailed, shouting “Death to Israel.”
Comparable funeral scenes were also reported by Iranian media in the sacred city of Qom, located south of Tehran, and in Karaj, a western suburb of the capital.
“This is the Friday of the Iranian nation’s solidarity and resistance across the country,” the news anchor said.
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Last week, Israel initiated a fierce attack on Iran, leading Tehran to respond with waves of missiles targeting Israel.
Mohammad Javad Haj Ali Akbari, the Imam conducting prayers in Tehran, informed the congregation that Israel struck Iran out of “desperation,” according to the official IRNA news agency.
Protests in Iraq
As thousands gathered in the Iranian capital and other cities to protest against Israel, shouting slogans in support of their leaders, in neighboring Iraq, thousands of followers of influential cleric Moqtada Sadr also demonstrated in Baghdad and various cities opposing the war, according to AFP correspondents.
“I will give my life for my leader,” read a protester’s sign, alluding to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“It is an unjust war… Israel has no right” to hit Iran, said a protester.
The Israeli attack has led Iran to respond with missile strikes targeting Israel, causing damage to civilian neighborhoods in both nations.
Iraq serves as an important ally to Iran while also being a strategic partner of the United States, Israel’s main backer, and has for years managed a careful equilibrium between the two adversaries.
It has only just recently recovered a sense of stability after many years of destructive conflicts and upheaval.
