State-Sponsored Rallies in Iran As Gov't Downplays Israeli Attack

Rallies were held in multiple locations in the Tehran province and in Mashhad, North East of Iran, and the North West in Zanjan.

Iranian regime-affiliated media outlets reported on today’s rallies without mentioning Friday's attack on an airbase in central Iran, reportedly launched by Israel. These outlets described the purpose of rallies to be in support of “Vade-ye Sadeq”.

Vade-ye Sadeq (Operation True Promise) is the codename the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) gave to the Iranian missile and drone attack on Israel on April 14 in response to the alleged Israeli attack on its embassy in Damascus on 1 April.

The rallies being pre-organized state-sponsored events and presented as being in support of Operation True Promise, were part of the Iranian regime’s propaganda to justify its attack on Israel on April 13.

Reports of explosions near both the airport and an army base in Isfahan province, situated in the central region of Iran broke earlier Friday. While US officials have stated that Israel was behind the attack, Iran has continued to downplay the attack.

Furthermore, the only remarks by Iranian officials about the Friday attack did not even mention Israel. Before Friday's prayers sermon, commenting on the attack, Kioumars Heydari, Commander of the Iranian Army's Ground Forces stated: "If suspicious flying objects appear in the country's sky like last night's incident, they will not be spared from being targeted by our defense forces."

Additionally, Friday prayer imams, appointed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, did not mention the Friday Israeli attack in their sermons.