Thousands take to streets of Iran capital in support of Palestinians

TEHRAN - Thousands of Iranians took to the streets of Tehran on Friday in a show of support for Palestinians amid a bloody conflict between Israel and Hamas.

The demonstrators waved the flags of Iran, Palestine and Hezbollah and burned the flags of the US and Israel, an AFP journalist said.

They also chanted slogans and held banners that read "Down with America" and "Down with Israel" as they marched in the Iranian capital.

Similar rallies were held in other cities across the Islamic republic.

Tehran, which financially and militarily backs Hamas militants, has been calling on regional Islamic and Arab countries to form a united front against Israel.

Hamas militants stormed across Israel's southern border at the weekend, shooting people in their homes and on the streets in an attack that claimed more than 1,200 lives.

Iran celebrated the attack as a "success" but insisted it was not involved in the onslaught, during which the Islamists also took 150 Israelis, foreigners and dual-nationals hostage.

Israel has responded by pounding Hamas targets in the blockaded Gaza Strip, killing more than 1,500 people in the impoverished Palestinian territory of over 2.4 million people.

On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian began a regional tour by visiting Iraq to bring together allies of the Islamic republic.

He warned Israel that "new fronts" might be opened against the country unless it stops bombing Gaza. - AFP