Iran downplays protests as anti-US crowds rally

Tens of thousands of pro-government demonstrators rallied in Tehran yesterday as the Iranian regime sought to downplay the continuing nationwide protest movement.

- William Christou Deepa Parent

State TV showed crowds of people streaming through the streets of Tehran before gathering in Enqelab Square for the “Iranian uprising against American-Zionist terrorism” rally. There, they listened to a speech by the speaker of the parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who railed against western intervention.

Ghalibaf said Iran was fighting a four-front war: an “economic war, psychological warfare, military war against the US and Israel, and today a war against terrorism”.

Flanked by the slogans “Death to Israel, Death to America” in Persian, he vowed the Iranian military would teach Donald Trump “an unforgettable lesson” if Iran were attacked.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the demonstration was a “warning” to American politicians, following threats from the US president to intervene militarily in Iran.

"These massive rallies, full of determination, have thwarted the plan of foreign enemies that were supposed to be carried out by domestic mercenaries," he said, according to Iranian state TV.

The show of support by regime supporters came as the Iranian government tried to project an air of normality, despite being rocked by the country's largest protest movement since 2009.

The US president has repeatedly threatened to intervene militarily if Tehran killed protesters. The White House yesterday said Trump was not afraid to use military force but wanted diplomacy.

Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, claimed the situation in the country had "come under total control" yesterday in an address to foreign diplomats.