Hundreds take to streets of Tehran in pro-regime demonstration

Hundreds of people take to the streets of Tehran after a ceasefire is announced between Israel and Iran to express their support for the regime.

The demonstrators wave Iranian flags, posters of the Supreme Leader  Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and signs reading “down with the USA.”

Iranian authorities presented the halt in strikes as a “triumph that forced the enemy to regret, accept defeat and unilaterally cease its aggression.”

Those opposed to the regime appeared weary about taking to the streets.

Iranians contacted by Reuters, including some who oppose the Islamic Republic and have protested against it in the past, said the airstrikes had brought people to rally around national feeling in the face of what they saw as foreign aggression.

Still, for many Iranians, there is anger at the top ranks of the nation’s leadership, and for those returning home, the reality of a sanctions-hit economy remains.

“This is unacceptable. This is brutal. Why are we being attacked while the officials hide in safe places?” says Mohammad, 63, from Rasht.

“I place the blame on this country’s decision-makers. Their policies have brought war and destruction upon us,” he says by phone.

While Israel has repeatedly targeted both leaders and facilities of the internal security forces under the IRGC, state media has announced hundreds of arrests of people accused of spying.

Black security vehicles were seen on the streets of Tehran today and dissidents expressed fear of a coming crackdown by the authorities to ward off any attempt at mass protests.