Iranian leaders took to the streets of Tehran on Friday, participating in the annual Quds Day rally, a demonstration marked by its anti-Israeli sentiment. Tensions escalated when an IDF missile detonated nearby, adding to the day’s intensity.
Among the attendees were Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and the nation’s top security official, Ali Larijani. Both leaders downplayed recent Israeli and U.S. military actions targeting the capital, characterizing them as acts born from desperation.
“These attacks stem from fear and desperation. A truly powerful entity wouldn’t resort to bombing demonstrations. It’s evident that their efforts have failed,” Larijani stated during a broadcast on state television.
Adopting a resolute stance, Larijani criticized U.S. President Donald Trump, asserting, “He doesn’t grasp that the Iranian people are courageous, strong, and resolute. The more pressure he applies, the more determined our nation becomes.”
In a previous statement, Larijani warned that Trump would regret his “grave miscalculation” after the President claimed victory in the ongoing conflict.
Larijani’s presence at the rally marked one of the most significant public appearances by an Iranian official since the February 28 strike that resulted in the death of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several other high-ranking officials.
Iran’s judiciary chief was also at the rally and was seen ranting to Iranian TV about the US and Israel, as the loud explosion was heard in the background.
Speaking passionately on state television while ignoring the blast, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei declared: ‘We stand with the people against arrogance and Pharaoh-like oppressors. Our people are not afraid of the bombing, we will continue along this route.’
Holding images of Ali Khamenei and his son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei, people marched through Tehran in the annual show of support for the Palestinian cause and show of opposition to Israel, trampling on images of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Ali Larijani appeared in a mass rally in Tehran on March 13 where he dismissed the latest Israeli-US attacks on the capital as being ‘out of desperation’
Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei continued his anti-Israel rant at a pro-regime rally in Tehran while ignoring IDF a blast from an IDF missile
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends the Quds Day march in Tehran, Iran, on March 13
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is seen on a motorcycle during the pro-regime rally in Tehran on March 13
Iran’s official IRNA news agency said that one woman was killed on Friday in an explosion that went off close to the annual pro-government rally in Tehran.
According to Press TV, the woman, who was described as an ‘Iranian mother’, was fatally wounded by shrapnel from the strike.
The Israeli army had earlier called on people to evacuate two areas in the city centre of Tehran close to the site of the rally.
It comes as the war has reached its 14th day, with Iran continuing its relentless attack on the Gulf states.
Explosions rocked Dubai this morning after an Iranian drone struck the city’s financial district.
A building was damaged in Dubai’s International Finance Centre by debris from a successful interception of an attack.
Authorities confirmed there were no injuries during the latest attack on Dubai which has been repeatedly targeted with drones and missiles since the war began.
Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry said Friday its forces had intercepted dozens of drones, including one targeting its capital’s Diplomatic Quarter.
Two people died from drone debris in Oman, according to state media there, while sirens rang out early Friday at Turkey’s Incirlik airbase, a key NATO facility housing US troops.
Later Friday, Turkey’s defence ministry said NATO defences had intercepted a ballistic missile from Iran in Turkish airspace, the third such incident in just over a week.
In another sign of the war’s spread, President Emmanuel Macron announced the death of France’s first soldier, in an attack in the Erbil region of Iraq.
Arnaud Frion, Chief Warrant Officer of the 7th Battalion of Chasseurs Alpins from Varces, died and five others were injured.
France’s military said earlier that drones hit a base where troops were taking part in counter-terrorism training with Iraqi counterparts.
Elsewhere in Iraq, a US refuelling aircraft crashed, killing four crew members, though the military said it was ‘not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.’
In Israel, a strike on the town of Zarzir injured around 60 people, according to police, with images showing burned-out vehicles and craters in the ground.
The conflict has also battered Lebanon, with authorities reporting 687 people killed by Israeli attacks, including at least 12 in a strike Thursday on Beirut’s seafront, where displaced families are camping in tents.
Smoke from an explosion rises behind demonstrators attending the annual anti-Israeli Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, rally in support of Palestinians in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 13
Iranians step on an Israeli flag during a rally in Tehran, Iran, 13 March
Iranians hold placards against Trump and Netanyahu during a rally in Tehran, Iran on March 13
A billboard shows a graphic depicting Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei with military commanders as people attend the annual anti-Israeli Quds Day in Tehran on March 13
Donald Trump claimed on Friday that the US is ‘totally destroying Iran’ while issuing a sinister warning that he is about to escalate the conflict.
The president appeared to signal that major action would be unfolding on Friday, writing in the early hours on Truth Social: ‘Watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today.’
In a post shared to Truth Social at 12:33am, Trump wrote: ‘We are totally destroying the terrorist regime of Iran, militarily, economically, and otherwise.
‘Iran’s Navy is gone, their Air Force is no longer, missiles, drones and everything else are being decimated, and their leaders have been wiped from the face of the earth,’ he added.
‘We have unparalleled firepower, unlimited ammunition, and plenty of time – Watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today.
‘They’ve been killing innocent people all over the world for 47 years, and now I, as the 47th President of the United States of America, am killing them. What a great honor it is to do so!’
Meanwhile, Iran’s new Supreme Leader is reportedly unaware of the ongoing war in the Middle East and does not know he is the Islamic Republic’s new leader, according to a new report.
Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, succeeded his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, following his assassination on February 28.
He is reportedly in a coma at the Sina University Hospital in Tehran following an airstrike, according to a source in Tehran.
Due to his condition, he does not know of the ongoing war, the death of his family members, including his wife and son and of his own election as Supreme leader, the source said.
Mojtaba is also reportedly in intensive care and surrounded by security officials, while a large section of the hospital has been sealed off to guard Iran’s Supreme Leader.
It is unclear whether Mojtaba was injured in the same air strikes which killed his 86-year-old father.
