Tehran, Iran - October 02, 2024

Thousands of people rallied on Wednesday in Iran's capital Tehran to commemorate assassinated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, condemning Israel and the United States for sabotaging regional peace.

Nasrallah and several other commanders of Hezbollah, a Lebanese armed group and a political party, were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the capital city of Beirut on Friday.

Carrying flags of Iran and Palestine, along with Hezbollah flags and posters of Nasrallah, the protesters accused the United States of fully supporting Israel in committing a series of war crimes in the Middle East, terming the U.S. claims of maintaining regional peace as blatant lies.

The protesters said that the United States and some other Western countries are adopting double standards and exercising hegemonic behavior for, on one hand, "taking sides" in the Palestine-Israel conflict and fully supporting Israel's military actions, while on the other hand, they are claiming to uphold regional peace.

They argued that only when these troublemakers leave the region, can true stability and security be achieved.

Since Sept 23, Israel has launched massive airstrikes against what it calls Hezbollah targets across Lebanon.

The international community has warned that Israeli attacks in Lebanon could escalate the Gaza conflict into a wider regional war.​​​​​​​

Shotlist:
Tehran, Iran - Oct 2, 2024:
1. Portraits of late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, late Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, late Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) senior commander Abbas Nilforoushan;
2. Various of protesters carrying flags of Iran, Palestine, Hezbollah flags;
3. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Mehdi, local (full name not given):
"The United States has claimed that its goal is to establish peace in the region, but it's clearly lying. The main obstacle to achieving a ceasefire is the United States and Israel.";
4. Placard reading "Down with USA";
5. Flag of Iran;
6. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Ali, local (full name not given):
"The United States has proven that it constantly creates crises in other countries. The United States has never played any positive role other than causing pain and suffering to other countries.";
7. Various of protesters carrying flags of Iran, Palestine, Hezbollah flags, portrait of Nasrallah;
8. Various of placards reading "Down with USA".

[Restriction - No access Chinese mainland/Al-Arabiya/Persian language TV Stations outside Iran. Strictly No Access BBC Persian/VOA Persian/Manoto TV/Iran International TV]