Iranian Football Fans Protest Palestinian Flag Amid Israel-Hamas Conflict
At a football match in Tehran, hundreds of Iranian fans chanted for the removal of Palestinian flags from the pitch on Sunday.
At a football match in Tehran, hundreds of Iranian fans chanted for the removal of Palestinian flags from the pitch on Sunday.
The protest was captured in viral videos circulating during the Israel-Hamas conflict. The death toll from the recent attacks had risen to at least 700 in Israel since Saturday.
Regime leadership has expressed support for Hamas, the Iran-backed militant group that launched hundreds of rockets at Israel. In Tehran, lawmakers were seen chanting slogans such as "Death to Israel, Death to America" on Saturday.
While the Islamic Republic's propaganda apparatus had organized street celebrations in support of the "Palestinian victory" in Tehran and other cities on Saturday evening, sources in Iran indicated that the participants were predominantly pro-regime and supporters of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and their families. Ordinary Iranians had largely stayed away from these celebrations.
However, at the football match, a different sentiment emerged as Iranian fans voiced their opposition to Palestine. They could be heard shouting, "Take that Palestinian flag and shove it up your A**!"
Morgan Ortagus, a former US Department of State official, reacted to the video, expressing her admiration for the Iranian people.
