Politics
Millions of Iranians rally on International Quds Day amid US-Israeli strikes
The event, which takes place on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, is commemorated through mass rallies that saw citizens from all walks of life gathering in major cities, including Tehran, to demonstrate their unwavering support for Palestinians.
This year’s International Quds Day is particularly poignant, occurring amid the ongoing military aggression by the United States and Israel against Iran.
The attacks, which have lasted for over two weeks, have claimed over 1,300 Iranian lives and left more than 10,000 injured, with a significant number of casualties being women, children, and students.
In response, Iranians have rallied in vast numbers, holding Iranian and Palestinian flags, and displaying images of Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, the newly elected leader of the Islamic Revolution.
In Tehran’s Enqelab Square, participants chanted “God is Great” in response to explosions that were heard during the rally amid US and Israeli airstrikes which have targeted schools, hospitals, police stations, and historical landmarks.
The atmosphere of defiance and solidarity was palpable, with people pledging their loyalty to the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini, and his vision for the liberation of Palestine.
A notable feature of this year’s events has been the demonstrators’ allegiance to Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei. Many rally participants carried his images, signaling their support for his leadership and commitment to the ideals of the revolution.
Some participants even signed petitions and gathered in groups to affirm their loyalty to him
Top officials attended the rallies, with President Masoud Pezeshkian seen walking alone on the street, without any security escort.
Speaking at the rally in Tehran, Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani stated that US President Donald Trump “does not understand” the resolve of the Iranian people.
“The Iranian people are a determined and capable nation, and the more pressure Trump applies, the stronger our will becomes,” Larijani said.
Responding to a question about Israeli attacks on Quds Day participants, Larijani said that such actions are driven by “fear and desperation,” adding that the Israeli regime’s aggression demonstrates its weakening position.
In a statement issued by the Islamic Development Coordination Council, the significance of this year’s Quds Day was noted.
“The security equations of the region and the world have changed with the power of resistance,” the statement declared.
It further described how “the Middle East, once envisioned by enemies as a space for expansion, has transformed into a ‘resistant Middle East.’
The statement called for continued unity, saying: “We are resolute in our commitment to the ideals of Imam Khomeini and the martyred leader Ayatollah Khamenei. We will stand by our leaders until the last drop of our blood.”
It also condemned US and Israeli actions, calling them “clear war crimes” that must be addressed by international bodies.
President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a post on social media, urged Iranians to disappoint the country’s enemies through massive participation in the Quds Day marches.
Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf emphasized that this historic occasion has turned into a nightmare for the “fake and child-killing Zionist regime.”
The significance of this year’s International Quds Day rallies is further underscored by the ongoing US-Israeli aggression against Iran, which began two weeks ago.
The violent campaign has sparked outrage among Iranians and bolstered their resolve to defend the Palestinian cause.
Ayatollah Khamenei, in his first public message on Thursday, called for participation in Quds Day events, describing them as a unifying force for people worldwide.
Reports from across Iran reveal that the participation in this year’s Quds Day is more widespread and determined than ever.
The mass rallies, which are also taking place in over 900 cities and dozens of towns and villages, are a clear statement of defiance against the external forces that seek to weaken Iran and its allies in the region.
Even in adverse weather conditions—heavy snow and rain and cold temperatures—Iranians are flooding the streets to voice their unwavering support for Palestine under Israeli and US military aggression.
The central rally in Tehran, which began at multiple points across the capital and converged at the University of Tehran, featured Qur’an recitations, speeches, and chanting of slogans condemning US and Israeli atrocities in Gaza and other Palestinian territories.
International Quds Day was first proposed by Imam Khomeini in 1979, who designated the last Friday of Ramadan as a day of global solidarity with the Palestinian people.
The initiative is aimed at preventing the Palestinian cause from being forgotten amid other global issues.
Over the years, Quds Day has become a symbol of resistance against the occupation of Palestinian territories by Israel, with rallies held in numerous countries worldwide, including across West Asia, North Africa, and in Western nations like the US, the UK, France, and Germany.
Iran’s mass participation this year carries particular significance, occurring amidst a campaign of terrorism by the US and Israel against Iran, aimed at stifling the only beacon of hope for the world’s oppressed peoples and resistance movements.
The brutal attacks on Iran, including bombings that have targeted civilian infrastructure, schools, and hospitals, have served to deepen the public’s resolve to confront the Zionist regime and its supporters.
The Quds Day rallies in Iran are not only a display of political opposition but also of national unity. From north to south, east to west, the Iranian people have united across ethnic and religious lines to voice their anger at the US-Israeli war of terrorism.
In cities such as Ahvaz, Shiraz, and Mashhad, participants from diverse backgrounds, including Shia, Sunni, and ethnic minorities, have gathered in solidarity with Palestinians. They are joined by Iranians who are mourning the recent slaughter of their loved ones in the Israeli-US airstrikes.
The rallies also carry a personal dimension for many Iranians, particularly in light of the recent bombing of a girls’ school in the town of Minab, which resulted in the deaths of 175 students and teachers.
The spirit of Quds Day transcends national borders, with similar events taking place across the globe.
In countries like Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Pakistan, hundreds of thousands of people have joined in rallies to demonstrate their support for Palestine and denounce Israeli aggression.
Even in Western capitals, where political pressures often limit public demonstrations, Muslims and activists have gathered to show their solidarity with Palestinians.
Some 287 candidates will be considered for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, the secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee said on Thursday, with US President Donald Trump likely to be among the nominees.
Of this year’s nominations, 208 are individuals and 79 are organisations, said Kristian Berg Harpviken, adding that there were many new nominees compared to last year.
“Since I am new in the job, one of the things that has to some extent surprised me is how much renewal there is from year to year on the list,” Harpviken said in an interview. He has held the position since January 2025.
Despite the number of conflicts rising worldwide and international cooperation under pressure, the award remains relevant, he added.
“The Peace Prize is even more important in a period like the one we’re living in,” he said. “There is as much good work, if not more, than ever.”
Trump likely nominated, but not confirmed
The leaders of Cambodia, Israel and Pakistan have said they nominated Trump for this year’s prize. Their nominations, if made, would have been done in spring and summer 2025, and they are therefore valid given the deadline was January 31.
There is no way of verifying they have done as they have said as nominations remain secret for 50 years and Harpviken declined to say on Thursday whether Trump had been nominated.
A nomination is not an endorsement by the award body.
In addition to committee members, thousands of people worldwide can propose names: members of governments and parliaments; current heads of state; university professors of history, social sciences, law and philosophy; and former Nobel Peace Prize laureates, among others.
Many names appear on betting sites giving odds on this year’s possible laureates, from Russia’s Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, to Pope Leo and Sudan’s Emergency Response Rooms, a volunteer aid group, among others.
Concern for health of jailed Iranian laureate
Harpviken said the committee was deeply concerned about the health of the 2023 Peace Prize laureate, Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi, which is worsening after she suffered a heart attack in prison.
Her supporters said on Wednesday her life was in imminent danger.
“Her sister was able to visit her in prison yesterday and the reports coming out after that are actually quite alarming as to her health condition,” said Harpviken.
“We see there is a lot of international pressure now. So we hope that the Iranian authorities do pay attention to that and release her so that she can have proper medical treatment.”
Who else could be nominated?
Among possible nominees for this year’s prize are Lisa Murkowski, the US senator for Alaska, and Aaja Chemnitz, a member of the Danish parliament elected from Greenland, according to the Norwegian lawmaker who nominated them both.
“Together they have worked relentlessly to build trust and to secure a peaceful development of the Arctic region over many years,” said the lawmaker, Lars Haltbrekken.
Greenland has been in particular focus this year due to Trump’s relentless push to acquire the island from Nato ally Denmark.
This year’s Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on October 9, while the ceremony will take place on December 10.
A US federal jury convicted an Afghan man on Wednesday of providing support to the Daesh in Afghanistan but failed to agree on whether he was involved in the deadly 2021 suicide bombing at Kabul airport.
Mohammad Sharifullah, a member of the Daesh-Khorasan, was convicted in Virginia of conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist organisation.
President Donald Trump, in an address to Congress last year, had described Sharifullah as the “top terrorist responsible” for the Kabul airport attack that killed at least 170 Afghans and 13 American troops.
The jury found Sharifullah guilty of providing support to Daesh but deadlocked after two days of deliberations on whether he played a role in the Kabul airport suicide bombing.
According to prosecutors, Sharifullah scouted out the route to the airport where the suicide bomber later detonated his device among packed crowds trying to flee days after the Taliban seized control of Kabul.
The United States withdrew its last troops from Afghanistan in August 2021, ending a chaotic evacuation of tens of thousands of Afghans who had rushed to Kabul’s airport in the hopes of boarding a flight out of the country.
Sharifullah was extradited to the United States in March 2025 and put on trial in Alexandria on the outskirts of the US capital.
He faces up to 20 years in prison.
According to the US authorities, Sharifullah was involved in a number of Daesh-Khorasan attacks between 2016 and his arrest by Pakistani authorities in 2025.
They included a June 2016 suicide bombing that targeted Nepali security guards protecting the Canadian embassy in Kabul.
Sharifullah was accused of conducting surveillance and transporting the suicide bomber to the attack site.
He was also accused of giving weapons instructions to Daesh-Khorasan gunmen who attacked the Crocus City Hall near Moscow in March 2024.
- Khamenei says US faces disgraceful defeat in its plan.
- Iran to secure Gulf, eliminate “enemy’s abuses”: supreme leader.
- Iranian rial has fallen to historic lows against dollar.
Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in a published written message on Thursday that a new chapter for the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz has been taking shape since the Iran war with the United States and Israel broke out on February 28.
Iran’s Supreme Leader said that Tehran would secure the Gulf region and eliminate what he described as “the enemy’s abuses of the waterway.”
The Supreme Leader added that new management of the Strait of Hormuz would bring calm, progress and economic benefits to all Gulf nations.
“Today, two months after the largest military deployment and aggression by the world’s bullies in the region, and the United States’ disgraceful defeat in its plans, a new chapter is unfolding for the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz,” he said, hailing Iran’s control over shipping in the strait.
Khamenei was wounded in the initial US-Israeli strikes that assassinated his father Ali Khamenei, and has not been seen in public since being named his successor as supreme leader last month.
The United States imposed a blockade on Iran’s ports two weeks ago, while the Islamic republic has maintained its stranglehold over the strategic Strait of Hormuz since the start of the Middle East war in February.
Now, a State Department official told AFP, Washington is seeking to set up an international coalition comprising allied states and shipping firms to coordinate safe passage through Hormuz — while maintaining its own blockade of ships serving Iran.
“Any attempt to impose a maritime blockade or restrictions is contrary to international law… and is doomed to fail,” Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said, in a statement that warned the blockade that began on April 13 would be “a disruption to lasting stability in the Persian Gulf”.
And Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has emerged as an influential figure, said control of Hormuz would allow Tehran to “provide itself and its neighbours with the precious blessing of a future free from American presence and interference”.
‘Choking’
Trump is expected to receive a briefing on Thursday on new plans for potential military action in Iran from Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of US Central Command, two sources with knowledge of US planning told news site Axios.
This week Trump has reportedly told oil executives and national security officials to prepare for a long US blockade designed to force Tehran to surrender its nuclear programme.
US Central Command said on Wednesday in a social media post that it had reached a “significant milestone after successfully redirecting the 42nd commercial vessel attempting to violate the blockade”.
It said there are “41 tankers with 69 million barrels of oil that the Iranian regime can’t sell”, estimating the value at more than $6 billion.
Oil prices struck a four-year high on Thursday. International benchmark Brent crude soared more than 7% to $126 a barrel, but then eased in midday trading in London.
UN chief Antonio Guterres said the closure of Hormuz was “strangling the global economy” and International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol told a meeting at his Paris headquarters: “The world is facing the biggest energy crisis in history.”
The European Central Bank also warned that the longer the war and high energy prices continue, “the stronger is the likely impact on broader inflation and the economy.”
Trump faces domestic political pressure to end the war, which is unpopular even with much of his base, has increased costs for American consumers and has unnerved US allies.
Iran’s economy is also suffering and the rial has fallen to historic lows against the dollar.
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