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Yemen launches third 'hypersonic' strike on Tel Aviv airport in 24 hours
Yemeni Armed Forces have carried out a fresh missile attack against the Israeli regime, setting off sirens in the northern part of the Israeli-occupied territories.
Military spokesman Yahya Saree said they launched a hypersonic ballistic missile at the Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv on Wednesday in solidarity with Gazans amidst Israel’s bloody onslaught on the besieged territory.
The missile hit its target “successfully,” forcing millions of Israelis to flee to shelters and halting air traffic at the airport for nearly an hour, he added.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces' operations aim to end the aggression against our steadfast and patient people in the Gaza Strip, to end the war of extermination, and to end the ongoing massacres against them, which continue up to this moment, in full sight of the entire world,” Saree said.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces reiterate their affirmation that these operations are ongoing and will not be ceased until the aggression against Gaza stops and the blockade is lifted,” he added.
The Yemeni official further called upon “all members of the nation to stand up honorably in rejection of the genocide against their people and in rejection of starvation and blockade.”
This is the third missile attack in less than 24 hours targeting the Israeli regime’s busiest and most important airport, Ben Gurion.
The Israeli military later confirmed the missile attack, claiming that it had intercepted the rocket.
"Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted," it said in a statement.
On Tuesday evening, Yemen’s missile force also struck Ben Gurion airport using a projectile of the same type.
Yemeni Armed Forces started their military operations against the Israeli regime in late 2023 shortly after the regime started taking the Gaza Strip under a genocidal war that has so far claimed the lives of more than 52,900 Palestinians, mostly women and children.
Over all, hundreds of such strikes have taken place throughout the course of the war, targeting strategic and sensitive sites across the occupied territories.
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Iran ‘serious’ in talks and seeks deal, will ‘powerfully’ pursue peaceful nuclear activities: Pezeshkian
Iran’s president has emphasized that the Islamic Republic is "serious" in its indirect talks with the US in pursuit of an agreement based on peace, underlining the country’s continued all-out determination to pursue peaceful nuclear activities.
“We are negotiating [seriously] because we desire peace,” Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday, while underscoring that the country would not give up its nuclear achievements, particularly in the realm of peaceful energy.
“We will continue to pursue these peaceful activities in a powerful manner,” he added, addressing a cabinet meeting.
‘Dismantlement of Iran’s entire nuclear sites unacceptable’
Pezeshkian, meanwhile, clarified that the Islamic Republic found the demand for dismantlement of its entire nuclear infrastructure “unacceptable.”
For years, the United States and its allies have sought to accuse the Islamic Republic of pursuing "nuclear weapons," despite Iran's consistent and unwavering declarations that it does not seek, develop, or stockpile such weaponry in line with its moral and religious principles.
As per the claims, the US and its allies have targeted the Islamic Republic with a whole host of illegal and unilateral sanctions.
The US and the Israeli regime, Washington’s most cherished regional ally, have also been issuing recurrent threats of attacking Iran’s nuclear sites, and calling for wholesale elimination of the nation’s nuclear facilities -- a demand that was most recently reiterated by US President Donald Trump.
This is while, the Islamic Republic's commitment to a peaceful nuclear program has been thoroughly validated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has found no evidence to support Washington’s and its allied parties’ claims.
Unexceptional verification of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear activities have been the result of the IAEA’s putting the country's nuclear work under the most rigorous scrutiny compared to any other member state.
Pezeshkian likewise noted that “the Islamic Republic of Iran has never pursued, is not pursuing, and will never pursue nuclear weapons.”
He reaffirmed the nation's religious and legal position against the development of nuclear weapons, citing Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei’s fatwa (religious decree), which has categorically forbidden such pursuit.
The president, meanwhile, said that Iran was decisively following up its nuclear energy work since nuclear technology significantly benefited the nation, not just in terms of energy production, but as far as vital sectors such as medicine, agriculture, and environmental protection were concerned.
The cabinet session also addressed broader regional issues, with Pezeshkian reiterating that Iran also sought peace and security for the entire region.
He repeated Iran’s belief in a stable West Asia region, without the interference of foreign powers.
Accordingly, the president called for regional solidarity, while denouncing the Israeli regime for exacerbating instability in the region through incessant occupation and acts of deadly aggression.
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Netanyahu’s Gaza depopulation remarks ‘modern blueprint for ethnic cleansing’: Euro-Med
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on an UNRWA school sheltering displaced people, in the Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip, on May 7, 2025. (Photo by Reuters)
An independent international human rights organization has vehemently denounced the latest remarks by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on demolition of Gaza and diplacement of its population as a “modern blueprint for ethnic cleansing.”
Netanyahu said recently that the Tel Aviv regime “will continue destroying homes in Gaza until Palestinians are left without shelter, with no option but to leave.”
The Geneva-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, in a statement released on Sunday, said the comments mark yet another official admission from the top political authority in the Zionist entity, confirming a “deliberate” scheme aimed at uprooting a whole population through the systematic eradication of their means of survival.
Euro-Med emphasized that Netanyahu's statements go against the reasons the regime provides for its military campaign against Hamas or any other Gaza-based resistance group, revealing that the declared aim is the forced displacement of Palestinian civilians.
The organization characterized the statements as a contemporary manifestation of ethnic cleansing occurring openly, saying the options facing Palestinians are grim: face death or endure forced expulsion. Even more concerning is that the barrier identified by Netanyahu is not international law, but rather the practical difficulties in locating nations prepared to accept the displaced individuals, it added.
The Euro-Med outlined what it called a clear roadmap of the crime in progress, which it said is, “Demolish homes, choke the crossings, terrorize and starve the population — then impose exile as the only path forward.”
The rights group stated that Israel’s policy is not for the sake of security; rather “it is a comprehensive act of forced displacement, utilized as a mechanism within a larger crime of genocide that has persisted for the last 19 months.”
The Israeli military resumed bombardment of Gaza on March 18, killing thousands of Palestinians, and injuring many others, after it shattered the 2-month ceasefire agreement with the Palestinian group Hamas and the deal on the exchange of Israeli captives with Palestinian abductees.
At least 52,829 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and another 119,554 individuals injured in the brutal Israeli military onslaught on Gaza since October 7, 2023.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Netanyahu and former Israeli minister of military affairs Yoav Gallant, citing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the besieged coastal territory.
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Hamas says it will release US-Israeli captive as Tel Aviv stresses ‘not committed’ to ceasefire
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas is about to release an Israeli-American trooper in its captivity following, what has been billed as, a reported deal with the United States that was clinched without the Israeli regime’s involvement.
Speaking on Monday, Abu Obeida, spokesman for al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, said the development was about to get underway later in the day.
The 21-year-old has been held captive since October 7, 2023, when the Gaza Strip’s resistance fighters launched a uniquely-courageous operation against the occupied Palestinian territories.
Big blow to Netanyahu as Israel left out
Israeli opposition politicians blasted Netanyahu for failing to secure the release of the remaining captives in Gaza after the US held direct talks with Hamas over Alexander.
Yair Lapid, leader of the Yesh Atid party wrote on X that, “The reports of direct contacts between Hamas and the US are a disgraceful diplomatic failure by the Israeli government and its leader.”
Benny Gantz of the Israeli Resilience Party also lambasted Israeli regime’s “lacks of initiative and responsibility”.
Yair Golan, leader of the Israeli Democratic Party said the “fact that Edan Alexander is released only because he holds American citizenship is a disgrace and humiliation”.
As many as 251 Zionists were ensnared during the operation that took place in response to decades of deadly Israeli occupation and aggression.
The release is reportedly part of a broader agreement between Hamas and the US.
Alexander’s release would follow reported direct negotiations between Hamas and US officials, bypassing Israeli involvement entirely.
Trump: A step in good faith towards US
US President Donald Trump expressed gratitude over the prospect of the release, saying, "I am grateful to all those involved in making this monumental news happen.” He also called it a "step taken in good faith towards the United States.”
He considered such development to be a positive one concerning mediators Qatar and Egypt’s efforts too, while being a step towards cessation of “this very brutal war.”
Israel, however, says it has not committed to a ceasefire “in any way” for Hamas’s release of Alexander, but will set up a “safe corridor” to facilitate the move.
The regime has also not agreed to a ceasefire or any deal involving the exchange of more captives with Palestinian prisoners after it entirely sabotaged a ceasefire agreement with Hamas, which had been reached in January, by re-launching the genocide, and with more intensity still.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the regime had permitted a safe corridor for Alexander's release, but emphasized that military attacks against Gaza would continue.
US officials, including regional envoy Steve Witkoff, is reportedly preparing to oversee the process of Alexander’s release.
The stance has, meanwhile, drawn sharp criticism from Israeli opposition officials and families of other captives, who feel that their family members, who are still being held in Gaza, were being neglected in favor of an American citizen.
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How Western media again jumped on propaganda bandwagon over Iran port explosion
By Ivan Kesic
The tragic accident that claimed dozens of lives at the Shahid Rajaee Port near Bandar Abbas in southern Iran last month has been exploited by Iran's enemies for politically motivated, malicious activities and attempts to falsify the true cause of the explosion.
On April 26, a powerful explosion at the Shahid Rajaee Port in southern Iran resulted in widespread damage and casualties, leaving at least 70 dead and over 1,000 injured.
The true cause of the explosion remains shrouded in mystery, with multiple investigations underway. According to Iranian officials, it is most likely linked to the handling of highly flammable cargo.
While the country’s emergency officials managed to contain the fire and provide medical treatment to the injured, anti-Iran propagandists in the West were quick to disseminate misinformation about the cause of the explosion in yet another attempt to incite mass unrest.
Disseminating disinformation
As part of their disinformation campaign, Western media outlets have falsely claimed that the cause of the explosion was a military cargo, more specifically, "rocket fuel that Iran had shipped from China."
This false claim was largely sensationalized in headlines, while the body of the text referred to it as a rumor, using terms such as "possibly," "purportedly," or "allegedly" in relation to the rocket fuel.
Most of these propaganda outlets relied on a British military firm that has recently become a primary source of information on maritime events in the Indian Ocean, adhering to the official Anglo-American narrative, and citing anonymous and bogus sources.
Ambrey claimed that "the fire was reportedly the result of improper handling of a shipment of solid fuel intended for use in Iranian ballistic missiles," as quoted by Western media.
Although unnamed in many articles, this false claim indirectly implicated the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), which is responsible for the development and operation of Iran's missile program.
This disinformation builds upon two earlier narratives, both of which were released in the past six months and align with Anglo-American anti-Iranian, anti-Chinese, and pro-Israel policies.
The first involved claims that two Iranian ships arrived from China in Bandar Abbas in February and March, carrying 1,000 tons of sodium perchlorate and ammonium perchlorate, respectively.
There has been no confirmation of these claims from Iranian, Chinese, or independent sources, nor any evidence to substantiate them. Nevertheless, Western media outlets have continued to spread this false information in recent months.
To support these fabrications, these outlets often manipulatively referenced maritime websites that track ship movements, but do not provide any details regarding cargo.
The second, even older disinformation centers on an alleged "successful Israeli attack" in October 2024, which supposedly destroyed Iran's rocket fuel mixing facilities. This narrative has recently been cited as the reason for the Iranian shipment from China.
An even more bizarre version of this story claims that Iranian missile stockpiles were left "depleted" after launching ballistic missiles at the Zionist regime last year.
Baselessness of claims
Brigadier General Reza Talaei-Nik, a spokesperson for Iran's Defense Ministry, denied claims that missile fuel had been imported through the port before the explosion took place.
In an interview with local media, he stated that there were no military-related export or import cargoes at Shahid Rajaee Port, dismissing the unsubstantiated claims as "targeted disinformation and propaganda spread by foreign media."
Talaei-Nik added that this propaganda is part of the psychological operations carried out by Iran's enemies, which have been attempted in the past but consistently thwarted by the Iranian nation.
Other Iranian officials have emphasized to local media that Iran is self-sufficient in the production of ballistic missiles and has no need to import any foreign components.
It was also pointed out that transporting military cargo in commercial containers does not align with established protection and security protocols. If Iran needed to transport military cargo, it would use non-commercial ports.
The notion of military containers sitting idle in a customs yard, awaiting administrative formalities, was described as completely illogical. An entity capable of importing such cargo would, logically and routinely, transfer it immediately to military bases, according to experts.
Even Western reports, despite their sensationalist headlines and claims, state that "it was unclear why Iran wouldn’t have moved the chemicals from the port" all this time, considering that, according to their claims, the second ship from China had arrived a month earlier, on March 26.
Thirty-year-old Western analyses also confirm that by the end of the last century, Iran had mastered the production of perchlorate, a key ingredient in the manufacture of solid rocket propellant, further refuting claims about the need for imports.
The very idea that Iran would supposedly base its entire missile power on the import of foreign fuel, using sea routes where an enemy could easily intercept Iranian merchant ships, also seems highly implausible.
The motives for the disputed imports are also based on flimsy grounds, beginning with the claim that Iran is short of rocket fuel due to retaliatory attacks on the Zionist regime last year.
Visual evidence indicates that Iran fired a total of 53 missiles in three salvos during Operation True Promise 2, a negligible fraction (<3%) compared to even the lowest foreign estimates of 2,000 stored ballistic missiles, let alone the higher estimates of 15,000.
The second unfounded motive is based on exaggerated claims that an Israeli strike in October 2024 destroyed or significantly damaged alleged solid rocket fuel processing facilities at Parchin and Khojir, although available evidence suggests otherwise.
The Israeli regime claimed to target these facilities with low-flying cruise missiles or drones with relatively weak warheads compared to Iran's ballistic warheads, which would be incapable of destroying or damaging well-protected underground facilities.
If there had been true destruction or damage to the rocket fuel mixing facility, large explosions would have occurred due to the stored explosive material, yet no such explosions are visible in the available satellite imagery following the attack.
Based on the presence of dark orange smoke during the fire in Bandar Abbas, military experts ruled out the possibility of burning ammonium perchlorate or sodium perchlorate, as they burn in light blue and light yellow colors, respectively.
The main suspicion falls on ammonium nitrate, a common agricultural fertilizer responsible for dozens of deadly industrial accidents around the world, which has no military application.
Who spreads fake news and why?
Disinformation regarding the alleged rocket fuel as the cause of the explosion surfaced the same evening, just a few hours after the incident. The two main sources of this information were the American media outlets, the Associated Press (AP) and the New York Times (NYT).
The AP cited the murky British firm Ambrey, often referred to as a "maritime security and risk management company," as a source for the so-called rocket fuel.
However, Ambrey is actually a private mercenary firm, operating in the same sector as notorious companies like Blackwater (now Academi). It provides military support to commercial ships transiting through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.
Observers suggest that firms like Ambrey operate with approval from Western navies, raising concerns about the privatization of naval security and diminished government accountability.
Similar to the highly controversial Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), Ambrey has become an indispensable reference in Western media for any Yemeni retaliatory attacks on Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
However, it is quite clear that the detailed information actually originates from Anglo-American military intelligence services, with Ambrey serving only as a front for the media.
From this, it can be concluded that the disinformation is coming from London and Washington, who are attempting to smear the IRGC, their arch-rival in West Asia.
The NYT article has the byline of Farnaz Fassihi, an American journalist of Iranian origin, and Aaron Boxerman, an Israeli reporter based in occupied Jerusalem al-Quds.
On platform X (formerly Twitter), Fassihi claimed that she received (mis)information about imported rocket fuel from China from "an Iranian official" who wished to remain anonymous.
Both Fassihi and the NYT have long been known for their fierce anti-Iranian positions, aligned with official American foreign policy. The latter gained notoriety in the 1980s when it spread disinformation about the Imposed War.
Furthermore, referring to fictitious "anonymous sources" is a favored tactic of anti-Iranian propagandists who have been attempting to pin responsibility for various accidents on the government, state services, or the military for years.
Whether it was a dead cheetah cub, a collapsed girl in the subway, a flood, an earthquake, or a meteor strike, they always find "anonymous witnesses" or some similar trace of official Tehran.
The bot farms of the Israeli regime and the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) terrorist cult also joined the smear campaign, and according to preliminary statistics, they published 20,000 posts with disinformation and fake news on social networks in the days following the accident.
In a human tragedy with dozens of victims, they recognized yet another opportunity to exploit the event for vile manipulation and hateful accusations, hoping to provoke mass dissatisfaction, riots, and ultimately, their unfulfilled dream—the toppling of the Iranian political system.
Press TV’s website
Hamas calls for urgent legal action to stop ‘systematic assassinations’ of Palestinian detainees
A senior Hamas official has urged international institutions dedicated to prisoners’ rights to fulfill their duties regarding the ongoing systematic killings of Palestinian abductees within Israeli prisons.
In a press statement published on Monday, Mahmoud Mardawi said these institutions, led by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), are obliged to monitor the conditions of Palestinian detainees and take concrete measures to halt their systematic torture and daily mistreatment.
Mardawi said under international law, sanctions must be imposed against the Israeli regime, with perpetrators of prisoner rights abuses prosecuted and their crimes exposed globally.
He said the ongoing targeting of detainees and prisoner rights advocates constitutes a blatant breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which explicitly calls for imposing effective penalties on those who commit violations against abductees.
Mardawi underscored the importance of effective Palestinian action, at all levels, to free detainees from harsh detention conditions and to send a strong message globally that the Palestinian people will not abandon their fellow countrymen.
Earlier on Saturday, Palestinian prisoner advocacy organizations said a 60-year-old Palestinian detainee, Mohyee al-Din Fahmi Najem, died in Israeli custody after enduring harsh conditions and systematic medical negligence in Israeli prisons.
Fatah, the party led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, called his death “a deliberate execution,” blaming Israeli prison authorities for denying him medical care despite his serious condition.
Human rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns over the treatment of sick Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons, particularly those held without charge under administrative detention.
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Yemen: Aerial blockade on Israel will trigger ‘reverse migration’ from occupied territories
A senior member of Ansarullah’s political bureau says retaliatory strikes by Yemeni armed forces and their planned comprehensive aerial blockade on Israel will soon trigger reverse migration of thousands of settlers from the occupied territories.
In an interview with the Palestinian Shehab News Agency, Hazam al-Assad said "the surprises coming from Yemen will astonish everyone, both near and far."
He said the strikes by the Yemeni forces were "capable of reversing the tide of migration from the occupied territories.”
"Upcoming events, God willing, will set the wheel of migration back from the occupied Palestinian territories unless the US-backed Zionist entity halts its aggression and lifts its siege on our people in Gaza,” Assad was quoted as saying.
Tens of thousands of Israeli settlers have already left the occupied Palestinian territories since the onset of intense retaliatory strikes by regional resistance groups in response to the Israeli regime’s multi-pronged wars across the West Asia region.
The settlers broke the record of reverse migration in 2024, with an unprecedented 82,700 of them fleeing the territories.
Assad said the decision to impose an air blockade on Israel "was not a joke or a media stunt," calling on skeptics to monitor the fate of the port of Eilat following the naval blockade imposed by the Yemeni forces on ports across the occupied territories.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Assad said "Ben Gurion Airport and other Israeli airports will be like Umm al-Rashrash Port," known by the Israeli occupying regime as “Eilat.”
The official made it clear that Israeli threats against Yemen will not deter it from continuing its role in supporting and assisting Palestinians in Gaza.
The Yemeni forces said late on Sunday they would impose a "comprehensive" aerial blockade on Israel by repeatedly targeting its airports, in response to Israel expanding its brutal military campaign in Gaza.
They also claimed responsibility for a missile strike on Sunday that hit near Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, the latest in a string of attacks, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
Yemen’s Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center in a statement called "upon all international airlines to take this announcement into serious consideration ... and to cancel all their flights to the airports of the criminal Israeli enemy, in order to safeguard the safety of their aircraft and passengers," the statement read.
The Yemeni forces have increasingly targeted Israel and its ships in the Red Sea, stating that their actions are acts of solidarity with Palestinians as Israel continues its atrocities in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Israel has killed more than 52,500 people in Gaza since October 2023, according to the Gaza health ministry.
Press TV’s website
Ayatollah Khamenei: No benefit for Islamic Ummah greater than unity
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says it is imperative on Muslim countries to unite and prevent tribulations similar to what is befalling on Gazans and the people of Yemen.
In a speech in Tehran on Sunday, Ayatollah Khamenei touched on the annual congregation of Hajj, which brings together and unites Muslims from different parts of the world irrespective of their race, color, and culture.
“The Hajj gathering is for the benefit of humanity and there is no benefit for the Islamic Ummah greater than unity,” he told officials and organizers of the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, which able Muslims must make at least once in their lifetime.
“If the Islamic Ummah were united, the issues of Palestine and Gaza would not happen and Yemen would not be pressured like this,” the Leader added.
Gaza is the target of a brutal campaign of aggression by Israel which has killed nearly 53,000 people in the besieged Palestinian territory since October 2023 and left it in total ruin.
US, UK and Israeli warplanes have been launching deadly attacks against Yemen since March 15, when US President Donald Trump intensified the campaign that was started by the former administration last year to stop the Arab country's operations against Israel in solidarity with Gazans.
Ayatollah Khamenei said division and discord paves the way for “the colonialists, the US, the Zionist regime, and other expansionists to impose their interests and ambitions” on other nations.
"With the unity of the Ummah, security, progress, and synergy among Islamic countries and their assistance to each other become possible," the Leader said, adding the opportunity of Hajj should be viewed in this light.
Ayatollah Khamenei highlighted the political aspect which underpins the role of Hajj, saying that “contrary to the efforts, words, and actions of some who tarnish it, the essence of Hajj is political, its form is political, and its composition is political”.
“Hajj perhaps is the only obligation whose outward form and appearance and its composition are 100 percent political," the Leader said.
“Gathering people in one place, at one time, every year - everyone who can - the very essence of this gathering together is political.”
Far from being an ordinary pilgrimage and a sightseeing trip, the journey for Hajj is “participation in a very important practice that God Almighty has ordained for the management of humanity - not just the management of believers and Muslims, but for the management of humanity”, the Leader said.
“Hajj is for the administration of humanity. The true Hajj is a service to humanity - not just to yourself, your country and the Islamic Ummah; it is a service to humanity,” he added.
Ayatollah Khamenei touched on the prominent role and duty of Islamic governments, especially Saudi Arabia as the host of millions of pilgrims, in explaining the goals of Hajj.
State officials, scholars and intellectuals, writers, and influences also have an obligation to spell out the truths of Hajj to the people, the Leader added.
Press TV’s website
Imam Reza shrine
The Imam Reza shrine, located in Mashhad, Iran, is an Islamic shrine containing the remains of Ali al-Rida, who is regarded as the eighth Imam in Shia Islam. Also contained within the complex are the Goharshad Mosque, a museum, a library, four seminaries, a cemetery, the Razavi University of Islamic Sciences, and other buildings.
The complex is a tourism center in Iran and has been described as "the heart of the Shia Iran" with 25 million Iranian and non-Iranian Shias visiting the shrine each year, according to a 2007 estimate.
The shrine itself covers an area of 267,079 square metres (2,874,810 sq ft) while the seven courtyards which surround it cover an area of 331,578 square metres (3,569,080 sq ft), totaling 598,657 m2 (6,443,890 sq ft).
birthday anniv. of Imam Reza (AS)
Shia Muslims celebrate the birthday anniversary of Imam Reza (AS), the eighth Shia Imam and the grandson of Prophet Muhammad in Mashhad, the spiritual capital of Iran.
Thousands of Muslims throng the holy shrine of Imam Reza in Iran's northeastern city of Mashhad to mark the birthday anniversary of Imam Reza (AS).
Every year, millions of Shia Muslims visit his magnificently decorated shrine in Mashhad to pay homage to him.
As the birth anniversary of Imam Reza (AS) approaches, more and more pilgrims arrive in Mashhad on foot.
Muslims believe without the Imams, Islam, as introduced by the Prophet, could have gone astray.
Imam Reza (AS) holds a special position among Iranians since he spent his last years in Iran.
Iranians regard Imam Reza as bliss, a bountiful source of spirituality that never ceases to pacify the pilgrims of his shrine.