Iranian Football Fans Disrupt Minute Of Silence For Gaza
Iranian football (soccer) fans on Friday defied a government decision to observe a minute of silence for Gazans during a match in Tehran, by blowing horns and shouting.
Iranian football (soccer) fans on Friday defied a government decision to observe a minute of silence for Gazans during a match in Tehran, by blowing horns and shouting.
The video of the protest quickly circulated on social media, as yet another manifestation of the public mood in Iran opposing the government’s ideological and material support for the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The video captures the moment when spectators at the start of the game, reacted to the announcement for a minute of silence for Gaza with noise and the blaring of horns. The show of opposition occurred less than a week after a similar incident at a match involving Persepolis FC, where fans of that team chanted slogans against individuals displaying Palestinian flags in the stadium.
Remarkably, the video even prompted reactions from official Israeli social media accounts and authorities. Iran's leadership announced its full support for Hamas, an Iran-backed militant group responsible for a brutal attack on Israel and the massacre of around 1,400 people on October 7. Nearly 200 people, including women and children have also been taken hostage by the militants.
While the Iranian regime's propaganda apparatus organized street protests in support of Hamas in Tehran and other cities, reports from Iran suggest that the majority of participants were regime supporters and members of the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) and their families. Ordinary Iranians largely refrained from participating in these rallies, emphasizing the complex and multifaceted nature of public sentiment within Iran.
