Hezbollah supporters demonstrate in support of Iran
Hundreds of supporters of Hezbollah gathered in Beirut’s southern suburbs after Friday afternoon prayers to demonstrate in support of Tehran in the ongoing Israel-Iran war.
Demonstrators carried the Iranian, Lebanese and Palestinian flags as well as that of Hezbollah, and chanted "death to America" and "death to Israel." Some also chanted pledges of allegiance to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is revered as religious authority by many Shiite Muslims.
Hezbollah suffered severe losses in a war with Israel that ended with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in November and has so far remained on the sidelines the Iran-Israel war.
-Thousands demonstrate in Iraq -
Thousands of supporters of the influential Iraqi Shiite cleric and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr also took to the streets on Friday in Sadr City, on the outskirts of Baghdad, in response to a call by al-Sadr to show support for Iran in its conflict with Israel.
The demonstration began after Friday prayers with protesters wearing white burial shrouds in a symbolic gesture of readiness to sacrifice. Some burned Israeli and U.S. flags.
The protest comes during escalating regional tensions. Iran-backed Iraqi militias have so far largely stayed out of the fray in the Israel-Iran war but have threatened to attack U.S. forces and interests in Iraq and the region if Washington launches direct attacks on Iran.
Source: Associated Press
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