Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi called for Israel’s expulsion from the United Nations on Sunday, speaking on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, which has been marked by rallies in Tehran and major Iranian cities.

Support for the Palestinian cause, redoubled by criticism from Western countries, especially the United States, was the main theme of this year’s ceremonies marking the anniversary of the 1979 revolution, news agencies France Presse and Agerpres reported on Sunday.

“We propose to expel the Zionist entity from the United Nations,” President Ibrahim Raisi said, referring to Israel, a country Iran does not recognize.

Because “what is happening today in Gaza is a crime against humanity, and the supporters of this criminal regime are the United States and some Western countries,” he added during a speech to thousands of people gathered in Azadi (Freedom) Square outside the capital on the occasion of this public holiday.

• Read also: VIDEO Iran: Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets on the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, chanting “Death to Israel”

President Raissi accused Israel of “violating 400 declarations, resolutions and agreements” concluded within the framework of “international organizations.”

According to AFP data based on official Israeli data, Iran is one of the main backers of Hamas in the war, which began on October 7, 2023, with an unprecedented attack by the Palestinian movement in southern Israel, which has resulted in more than 1,160 deaths.

In response, Israel promised to “destroy” Hamas, which, like the United States and the European Union, it considers a terrorist organization. According to the Ministry of Health of the Islamist movement, which has been in power in the territory since 2007, the Israeli army launched an offensive that killed more than 28,000 people in Gaza.

“Down with the United States”, “Down with Israel” and “Down with Great Britain”

Portraits of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and popular General Qassem Soleimani, killed during a raid by the US Army in Baghdad in January 2020, were displayed in Azadi Square in Tehran.

Among them are the slogans “Down with the USA”, “Down with Israel” and “Down with Great Britain”, the main opponents of the Islamic Republic since 1979.

Qiam ballistic missiles, Shahed 136 drones and Iranian-made Simorgh satellite launchers were placed around the huge square.

The West has accused Iran of supplying drones to Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine, which Tehran denies, and missiles to armed groups it supports in the Middle East, such as Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

In February 1979, the uprising of the revolutionary leader of the time, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, led to the collapse of the monarchy.

Relations between Iran’s leaders and the West have soured sharply in recent years over Tehran’s controversial nuclear program, human rights abuses and Iran’s support for militants in the Middle East.

Most Iranians are indifferent to Sunday holidays, writes DPA.

The celebrations come ahead of parliamentary elections on March 1, the first national elections since the huge protest movement that rocked Iran following the September 16, 2022, death of Mahsa Amini, who died 22 years after she was arrested for violating the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code. code.