{"id":337425,"date":"2026-03-13T15:46:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T15:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/337425\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T15:46:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T15:46:09","slug":"blast-near-pro-government-demonstration-in-iran-after-israeli-warning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/337425\/","title":{"rendered":"Blast near pro-government demonstration in Iran after Israeli warning"},"content":{"rendered":"

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) \u2014 A large explosion rocked an area of Iran\u2019s capital where thousands were gathered Friday for an annual state-organized rally to support the Palestinians and call for Israel\u2019s demise. Israel had warned that it would target the area<\/a> in central Tehran.<\/p>\n

There were no immediate reports of casualties. But the decision to proceed with the mass demonstration that was attended by some senior government officials, and Israel\u2019s threat to target the area, underscored the fierce determination on both sides nearly two weeks into a war<\/a> that has rattled the global economy and shows no sign of letting up.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A cleric chants slogans during the annual anti-Israeli Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day rally in support of Palestinians in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo\/Vahid Salemi)<\/p>\n

A cleric chants slogans during the annual anti-Israeli Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day rally in support of Palestinians in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo\/Vahid Salemi)<\/p>\n

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Iran has continued to launch widespread missile and drone attacks on Israel and neighboring Gulf states, and has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, through which a fifth of the world\u2019s traded oil passes, even as U.S. and Israeli warplanes pummel military and other targets across Iran.<\/p>\n

The U.S. military confirmed on Friday that all six crew members of an American KC-135 refueling plane<\/a> were killed when it crashed in Iraq.<\/p>\n

With growing global concerns about a possible energy crisis, the price of Brent crude oil<\/a>, the international standard, hovered around $100<\/a> per barrel. Brent prices<\/a> are about 40% higher than when Israel and the United States launched the war on Feb. 28.<\/p>\n

In the latest sign of unease from some close U.S. allies, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called for a \u201cconvincing plan\u201d on how to end the war. He spoke alongside the prime ministers of Norway and Canada at military exercises in Norway.<\/p>\n

In an interview with Fox News, U.S. President Donald Trump said the war would end \u201cwhen I feel it in my bones.\u201d<\/p>\n

Explosion rocks area of mass demonstration<\/p>\n

The explosion in Tehran rocked the Ferdowsi Square area midday, where thousands had gathered for an annual Quds Day rally in which they chanted \u201cdeath to Israel\u201d and \u201cdeath to America.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israel had issued a warning on a Farsi-language X account for people to clear the area shortly before the blast. But few Iranians would have seen it, as authorities have almost completely shut down the internet since the start of the war. Footage from the scene showed people chanting \u201cGod is greatest,\u201d as smoke rose in the area.<\/p>\n

The Israeli military later posted a second message in Farsi, noting the head of Iran\u2019s judiciary was at the rally and criticizing Iran for blocking many from seeing their warning.<\/p>\n

The hard-liner who leads Iran\u2019s judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, had been giving an interview on state television at the demonstration when the strike happened. His bodyguards encircled him, as he raised his fist and said Iran \u201cunder this rain and missiles will never withdraw.\u201d<\/p>\n

Senior security official Ali Larijani told Iranian media covering the rally that the suspected Israeli attack was a \u201csign of its desperation.\u201d<\/p>\n

US says 15,000 targets struck in Iran since the start of the war<\/p>\n

Israel had earlier announced another wave of strikes in Iran targeting infrastructure, and said its air force had hit more than 200 targets in the last 24 hours, including missile launchers, defense systems and weapons production sites.<\/p>\n

In Washington, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that over 15,000 enemy targets have been struck, which is more than 1,000 a day since the war began.<\/p>\n

He also sought to address concerns about the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, telling reporters: \u201cWe have been dealing with it and don\u2019t need to worry about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, added that the U.S. military has \u201cmade it a priority to target Iran\u2019s minelaying enterprise.\u201d Iran has mainly used missiles and drones to disrupt traffic in the strategic waterway.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Thursday vowed to continue the attacks and keep the strait closed in his first public statement<\/a> since succeeding his father, who was killed in the opening day of the war. Khamenei has not been seen in public since taking over leadership and released a written statement.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Facade<\/p>\n

Facade of a building at Dubai\u2019s financial district is seen partially damaged which, according to the authorities was caused by falling debris after a successful interception, United Arab Emirates, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo\/Altaf Qadri)<\/p>\n

Facade of a building at Dubai\u2019s financial district is seen partially damaged which, according to the authorities was caused by falling debris after a successful interception, United Arab Emirates, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo\/Altaf Qadri)<\/p>\n

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Hegseth said Khamenei \u201cis wounded and likely disfigured,\u201d without providing evidence or elaborating. Israel suspects Khamenei was wounded at the start of the war.<\/p>\n

In a social media post hours earlier, Trump had said \u201cwatch what happens to these deranged scumbags today,\u201d while claiming that Iran\u2019s military had been decimated and that its leaders had been \u201cwiped from the face of the earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

New Iranian attacks across the region<\/p>\n

Iran continued its daily attacks on oil and other infrastructure<\/a> around the Gulf region, and on Friday Saudi Arabia said that it downed nearly 50 drones.<\/p>\n

In Oman, two people were killed when two drones crashed in an industrial area in the region of Sohar, the Oman News Agency reported.<\/p>\n

A building at the Dubai International Financial Center was damaged by debris from what authorities called a \u201csuccessful interception.\u201d DIFC is an economic free zone for banks, capital traders and wealth managers, home to exclusive restaurants and nightclubs.<\/p>\n

Iran said earlier this week that it would target banks and financial institutions, after an airstrike hit a bank in Tehran.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Oscar Austin shot down an Iranian ballistic missile over Turkey on Friday, a U.S. official said on condition of anonymity in order to discuss ongoing military operations. It was the third such interception over the NATO member in the last two weeks.<\/p>\n

Residents in the southern Turkish city of Adana reported hearing a loud explosion and sirens sounding at Incirlik Air Base, which is used by U.S. forces.<\/p>\n

Fighting escalates between Israel and Hezbollah<\/p>\n

At least eight people were killed in an Israeli strike on Lebanon\u2019s southern coastal city of Sidon, Lebanon\u2019s Health Ministry said Friday. Nine others were wounded, the ministry added. The toll could rise as rescuers search the rubble.<\/p>\n

More than 600 people have been killed in Lebanon since the latest fighting<\/a> between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants began, the Health Ministry has reported, and nearly 800,000 have been internally displaced, according to the U.N. refugee agency.<\/p>\n

Iranian authorities say that more than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran, and Israel has reported 12 deaths. The U.S. has lost at least 13 service members, while another eight have suffered severe injuries.<\/p>\n

Nearly 60 people were wounded in northern Israel after the Lebanon\u2019s Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah said that it fired rockets toward the area and at Israeli troops in southern Lebanon. Almost all the injuries were described as very minor.<\/p>\n

Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israeli strikes so far were \u201cjust the beginning\u201d and warned that Lebanon\u2019s government \u201cwill pay an increasing price for the damage to Lebanese national infrastructure used by Hezbollah.\u201d<\/p>\n

All six crew of US refueling plane confirmed dead after crash<\/p>\n

U.S. Central Command said the KC-135 crash in Iraq, in which all six airmen died, wasn\u2019t related to friendly or hostile fire, and that two aircraft were involved, including one that landed safely. <\/p>\n

The KC-135 is the fourth publicly acknowledged aircraft to crash as part of the U.S. military\u2019s operations against Iran. Last week, three American fighter jets were mistakenly downed<\/a> by friendly Kuwaiti fire.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Rising reported from Bangkok, Corder from The Hague, Netherlands. Sally Abou Aljoud and Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Sam Mednik in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed to this story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) \u2014 A large explosion rocked an area of Iran\u2019s capital where thousands were…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":337426,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[91926,114,71612,54,4420,122,85,87,20889,117780,46,1984,2034,3896,43,165526,2032,31348,7319,12131,121,12526,126],"class_list":["post-337425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-ali-larijani","tag-business","tag-dan-caine","tag-donald-trump","tag-friedrich-merz","tag-general-news","tag-il","tag-iran","tag-iran-government","tag-iran-war","tag-israel","tag-israel-government","tag-mideast-wars","tag-military-and-defense","tag-news","tag-oscar-austin","tag-palestinian-territories-government","tag-pete-hegseth","tag-religion","tag-united-states-government","tag-war-and-unrest","tag-washington-news","tag-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=337425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337425\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/337426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=337425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=337425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}