Iran President Calls for Mass Turnout in Quds Day Rallies

Speaking on Wednesday, President Hassan Rouhani said the Iranian nation will never leave Palestinians alone.

“This year, too, the Iranian nation will turn out en masse in Quds Day demonstrations to chant their support for the oppressed through history, especially the Palestinian people, and will announce that they will stand up to oppressors until victory is achieved,” said Rouhani in a Cabinet meeting.

He said the Iranian nation has, over the past 40 years, always defended the oppressed and stood up to aggressors.

The president underlined Iran has always helped other nations such as Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen, not to mention Palestinians.

“The oppressed nations of Yemen and Palestine have been resistant people and are not afraid of aggressors, and force the enemy to retreat through sacrifice, devotion, resistance and power,” the president added.

He said Palestinians once only had stones to defend themselves, but now they have developed their local industries and can give Israelis a “crushing response.”

“Today, missile is the response to missile,” he said.

“After 48 hours, Zionists had to retreat and their iron dome could not withstand Palestinian combatants,” the president added.

“Although these nations are resistant, great and devoted people, on the other hand, superpowers’ crimes are on the rise as well and they are sending modern weapons to the region and exposing the oppressed people of Yemen and Palestine to bombardments,” President Rouhani added.

He said Palestinians have been homeless for 71 years now.

“Three or four generations of Palestinian people have not had security, freedom and calm. Their ancestral homes have been destroyed and captured by occupiers. They have lived in camps or have been force to go to other countries as refugees,” he said.

He further warned against plots hatched against occupied Palestine and the region.

Rouhani also pointed to US President Donald Trump’s plan for a so-called “Deal of the Century”, saying that it is, in fact, the “Bankruptcy of the Century” for those who have initiated the scheme.

The International Quds Day is an annual event during which demonstrators express their solidarity with the Palestinian people and opposition to the occupation of the Palestinian territories by Israel.

The day is seen as the legacy of the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Imam Khomeini, who officially declared the last Friday of Ramadan as International Quds Day back in 1979.

This year’s rallies will be held under the slogan “En Route for Quds” in the Arab countries.