SEETHING Iranians burned US and Israeli flags and swore their allegiance to the regime in mass protests across the country.
Thousands flooded the capital’s streets after weekly prayers, chanting for the death of the west and pledging their lives to the Supreme Leader.
Protesters gathered in Tehran’s main square to express their fury with Israel[/caption]
US and Israeli flags are burned[/caption]
Strong support for the Supreme Leader was evident among the crowds[/caption]
Israel has urged the people of Iran to rise up against the regime, but there are still pockets of support for the Islamic government.
But alongside their loyalty to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the crowds aimed vitriolic hate at Israel and the West.
Photos show Israeli and US flag deliberately set on fire and trampled on.
A sea of Iranian and Hezbollah flags and photos of Khamenei were paraded through the roads.
Footage also shows demonstrators brandishing pictures of commanders killed over the past week by Israel’s missiles.
One banner read: “I will sacrifice my life for my leader.”
Iranian state TV said: “This is the Friday of the Iranian nation’s solidarity and resistance across the country.”
The broadcaster said that protests also took place in other cities – particularly Tabriz in northwestern Iran and Shiraz in the south.
And there are reports of smaller scale gatherings in towns around the country.
While these crowds back the regime, there are plenty in Iran who want to see it toppled and the people finally freed from its tyranny.
Thousands have drained from Tehran and even left the country.
Friday’s protests were by far the largest since Israel and Iran began trading missiles.
People took to the streets despite the ongoing threat of Israeli bombs.
In Isfahan, home to one of the nuclear facilities Israel has hit, thousands joined in the funeral of an Iranian killed in an Israeli attack.
Several men were seen carrying a coffin draped with Iranian flags and with a photo of a uniformed soldier.
Behind them, men, women and children followed, chanting: “Death to Israel, death to America.”
People turned out despite the threat posed by Israel’s ongoing bombardment of Iran[/caption]
Protesters believe that the US and Israel want to exploit the conflict to gain power over the Middle East[/caption]
Protester Abu Hussein, a 54-year-old taxi driver, told Arab News: “It is an unjust war… Israel has no right.
“Israel is not in it for the (Iranian) nuclear (program).
“What Israel and the Americans want is to dominate the Middle East.”
The protests came on a day that efforts to find a diplomatic solution got gathered momentum.
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi travelled to Geneva to meet European foreign minsters – including those from the UK, Germany and France.
Earlier in the day, he attended a special meeting of the UN’s Human Rights Council.
Meanwhile, the UN’s Security Council met in New York upon Iran’s request.
The protests broke out at cities around the country[/caption]
They were attended by men, women and children[/caption]
Despite the crisis, many are still loyal to the Supreme Leader[/caption]
