IRAN’S President Masoud Pezeshkian yesterday hailed the ‘magnificent and epic’ presence of millions of Iranians in nationwide rallies on Monday.
In a message to the nation following Monday’s demonstrations, the president said the massive turnout neutralised the ‘sinister designs’ of foreign enemies and their mercenaries.
He expressed deep gratitude for the people’s ‘steadfastness and authority’ in the face of unrest and foreign intervention.
‘I bow before the greatness of your powerful will and authoritative presence,’ President Pezeshkian said.
He described the rallies as a sign of ‘unparalleled vigilance and responsibility’ in defending religious and national ideals against ‘oppressive enemies and dependent terrorists’.
Despite internal grievances, he noted, national interests and territorial integrity remained the unifying force for marchers.
Pezeshkian stressed that the unity displayed across all provinces formed a barrier against the ‘criminal paths’ of the United States, its allies, and the Israeli regime.
He added that the rallies have made the government ‘even more determined’ to address the country’s challenges from within.
Rallies began as early as 9am across the country on Monday, with Fars News Agency reporting around three million participants in Tehran alone.
Demonstrators carried placards denouncing foreign interference and expressing support for the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
The demonstrations came in response to days of foreign-backed riots, during which dozens of security personnel were killed in terrorist attacks. The government has declared three days of national mourning.
While officials have acknowledged legitimate economic grievances, linked to unilateral US sanctions targeting Iran’s oil and banking sectors, they have drawn a clear distinction between peaceful protest and violent rioting.
‘The nation should not allow rioters to foment insecurity,’ Pezeshkian said, arguing that training and support provided to vandals by Washington and Tel Aviv has turned domestic concerns into a ‘dirty war’ against Iran.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose an additional 25 per cent tariff on countries doing business with Iran, after plots led by Washington and its arch-ally, the Israeli regime, failed to derail economic protests towards ‘regime change’.
Trump made the announcement in a post on his Truth Social platform on Monday, saying the tariffs were ‘effective immediately’.
He did not outline which countries could be affected or how the tariffs would be implemented, but observers cited China as the most obvious target of the measure in light of the sheer size of its USD-billions-strong annual trade with the Islamic Republic.
Following Trump’s threat, Washington and Tel Aviv backed riotous elements infiltrated the protests, began targeting public property, aimed live fire at protesters, and even distributed firearms among them, as confirmed by Iran’s intelligence organisations.
Also on Monday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi verified during a meeting with Tehran-based diplomats that recordings had proven how these elements had been trying to cause as many casualties as possible to try to pave the way for renewed foreign aggression against the Iranian territory.
