WORLD : Israel Biggest Threat, Iran Told
Hundreds of thousands of Iranians converged on Tehran University today shouting, “Death to Israel, death to America!” President Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani told them that fighting Israel is a Muslim’s highest duty.
The rally, combined with Friday prayers, marked “Qods (Jerusalem) Day,” the last Friday of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which Iran’s late supreme leader, the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, dedicated to the support of the Palestinian cause.
The crowd included women clad in black chadors, or Islamic head-to-toe coverings, and children. The annual turnout is widely seen as a barometer of the public support Iran’s clerical leaders can muster.
Rafsanjani criticized Arab countries like Egypt which he said understand the danger from Israel but did nothing about it.
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