Iran commemorated the 45th anniversary of its Islamic revolution on Sunday, with President Ebrahim Raisi condemning Israel’s role in the Gaza war and urging its expulsion from the United Nations during the ceremony.
Since Iran’s 1979 revolution that overthrew the US-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the region’s main Shiite Muslim power has had deeply hostile relations with Israel, the United States and Britain.
Tensions have spiraled further since the bloodiest ever Gaza war erupted on October 7 with the Palestinian militant group Hamas’s attack on Israel, in turn sparking violence between Iran-backed militant groups and US forces.
In Tehran, Raisi accused the “Zionist entity”, Iran’s term for Israel, of committing “genocide” in Gaza with the support of the United States and other Western countries.
Supporters chanted “Down with the United States”, “Down with Israel” and “Down with the United Kingdom” at the square, where Iranian-made missiles and other military hardware were on display.
Raisi demanded that the “bombing of Gaza should be stopped as soon as possible” and declared that “the death of the Zionist regime has come”, in his speech to thousands at Azadi Square in western Tehran.
He asked about Israel: “How can a regime that has violated 400 statements and resolutions of international organizations adhere to UN covenants?
“We believe that one of the important steps that should be taken is the expulsion of the Zionist regime from the United Nations.”
