Hawzah News Agency-Iranians are preparing for International Quds Day rallies to show their solidarity with the oppressed Palestinians, with state officials and major bodies calling for a high turnout in nationwide events.

President Hassan Rouhani urged Iranian and world Muslims on Wednesday to stage a more unified presence at the rallies this year.

The president said this year’s rallies were deserving of note, given that the Israeli regime had tried to make the world forget its aggression against the Palestinians through backchannel efforts and by trying to create conflicts among regional Muslims.

The Islamic Propagation Coordination Council (IPCC) and the Guardian Council, which oversees elections and legislation, also released statements calling for massive participation in the rallies.

The event, the IPCC said, constitutes “a true representation of unanimity and unity in the Muslim world.”

The body called on the nation to attend the rallies to communicate to the world the deplorable status of the down-trodden Palestinians and press the Israeli regime to respect Palestinian rights.

The rallies, which will simultaneously take place in 850 cities across the country, will serve as a “heavy slap in the face of the international system of arrogance and imperialism,” it added.

It also identified the nine routes used for rallies throughout the capital, Tehran, which would witness the commencement of the demonstrations at 10:30 local time (06:00 GMT).

The Guardian Council echoed the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Imam Khomeini, as saying, “Palestine is part of Islam’s body.”

Imam Khomeini named the last Friday of the lunar fasting month of Ramadan as the International Quds Day.

Each year, millions of people around the world stage rallies on this day to voice their support for the Palestinian nation and repeat their call for an end to the Tel Aviv regime’s atrocities and its occupation of the Palestinian territories.

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