Participants in Iran’s annual Quds Day rally next week in Tehran will drive, not march, due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis in the country, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced on Saturday.
Iranians in the capital could chant slogans and wave flags from their vehicles during the rallies, which were being organized by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said Rouhani, according to Reuters.
The Iranian president said that the event, which falls on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, May 22 this year, would go ahead as normal in 218 other towns and cities, where the coronavirus outbreak has been less severe than in the capital.
“The coronavirus danger is still there, but our situation is better than before,” said Rouhani. “We have crossed the main peak.”
According to Iran’s Health Ministry, as of Saturday the country’s death toll from the virus was 6,937, with 118,392 confirmed cases since the beginning of the outbreak. However, many outside Iran believe that the true figures are much higher.
“Quds” is the Arabic name for Jerusalem, and Quds Day events are intended as a show of support for the Palestinians. The marches typically feature chants of “Death to Israel.”