DUBAI (AP) — A large explosion rocked an area of Iran’s capital where thousands were gathered Friday for an annual state-organised rally to support the Palestinians and call for Israel’s demise. Israel had earlier warned that it would target the area in central Tehran.
The decision to proceed with the mass demonstration that was attended by some senior government officials, and Israel’s threat to target the area, underscored the fierce determination on both sides nearly two weeks into a war that has rattled the global economy and shows no sign of letting up.
Iran has continued to launch widespread daily missile and drone attacks on Israel and neighbouring Gulf states, and has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil passes, even as US and Israeli warplanes pummel military and other targets across Iran.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Thursday vowed to continue the attacks and keep the strait closed in his first public statement since succeeding his father, who was killed in the opening day of the war. Khamenei has not been seen in public since taking over leadership, and the written statement was read by a state TV anchor.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Khamenei “is wounded and likely disfigured,” without providing evidence about the supreme leader’s condition or elaborating on how the U.S. knows. Israel suspects Khamenei was wounded at the start of the war.
