A large explosion rocked the Ferdowsi Square area in Tehran on Friday, March 13, 2026, where thousands had gathered for an annual Quds Day rally in which they chanted "death to Israel" and "death to America." Israel had issued a warning on a Farsi-language X account for people to clear the area shortly before the blast.
At least one person was killed after multiple explosions were heard around the al-Quds Day march, Iranian state television reported. The hard-liner who leads Iran's judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, had been giving an interview to a state television reporter at the demonstration when the strike happened. His bodyguards encircled him, as he raised his fist and said Iran "under this rain and missiles will never withdraw."
Few Iranians would have seen the Israeli warning, as authorities have almost completely shut down the internet since the start of the war. 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 and defense systems.
The explosion occurred amid a broader conflict that began on February 28, 2026, with at least 1,444 people killed and 18,551 injured by US-Israeli attacks on Iran, while at least 15 Israelis have been killed and more than 2,000 others wounded in Iranian attacks. Brent crude oil prices have spiked to about 40% higher than when Israel and the United States launched the war on Feb. 28.
