Iran's Foreign Ministry on Friday tweeted a video and message in honor of Quds Day, criticizing Israel as having a "waning existence."
"The waning existence of Israel is no longer able to deceive the world," the ministry tweeted. "No conspiracy will save the Zionist regime. Quds belongs to Palestinians."
The International Quds Day is the day of the global demand for the rights of the Palestinian people. The waning existence of Israel is no longer able to deceive the world. No conspiracy will save the Zionist regime. Quds belongs to Palestinians.#QudsDay#AlQudsDay2023 pic.twitter.com/0XZvrqjrew
— Iran Foreign Ministry (@IRIMFA_EN) April 14, 2023
The term Quds means Jerusalem and Quds Day is a celebration common in Iran and other Shi'ite Muslim populations, such as in Lebanon, Syria and elsewhere.
The founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini, created Quds Day in 1979 as a worldwide demonstration to protest the existence of the state of Israel.
The video, set to dramatic music, is a montage of still images ranging from Israeli and US flag burnings to pro-Palestinian protests.
Nasrallah's Quds Day speech
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah joined in the mockery in his Quds Day speech, saying "today we celebrate World Quds Day with faith and calmness and feel security, strength, and power, but yesterday the Israeli entity announced its alertness and prepared iron domes on all fronts and sent worthless threatening messages to all the countries in the region."
Nasrallah as usual spoke from an undisclosed location and his speech was broadcast to a Quds Day event in Beirut. He went on to explain his silence on recent security events on the Israeli border, stressing that this tactic caused fear and concern in Israel.
He added that Prime Minister Netanyahu lied about the Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon and that Hamas and Hezbollah infrastructures were not attacked: "Bananas were bombed in southern Lebanon."
He closed by adressing Israel directly: "I tell Israel that its attempt to isolate each arena, thinking that there are different conflict rules for each, is a dangerous game. We warn that its foolish steps and actions in Gaza, the West Bank, Jerusalem, Syria and Lebanon could lead to a major war."
Iranian and Palestinian statements on Israel's internal cracks
Palestinian and Iranian leaders also made several statements on the growing internal divisions within Israel.
These divisions were sparked by the judicial reform crisis, which has seen unprecedented numbers of Israelis take to the streets in protest.
"The Zionist entity is in a state of conflict and vision and is heading towards internal disintegration," Hamas deputy head Saleh al-Arouri said Wednesday.
Earlier this week, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi discussed the weakness of Israel with Syrian President Bashar Assad.
“The crimes of the Zionist regime are a sign of weakness and are proof of a bright and promising future for the resistance movement.”
Ebrahim Raisi
Speaking after clashes on the Temple Mount amid Ramadan, Raisi told Assad that “the crimes of the Zionist regime are a sign of weakness and are proof of a bright and promising future for the resistance movement.”
Raisi further claimed the world was changing and that support was now growing for the “axis of the resistance” against Israel.
Yonah Jeremy Bob, Tzvi Joffre and Shahar Berdichevsky/Maariv contributed to this report.