Pride and fear in Iran after missile attack on Israel

Iran celebrates missile attack on Israel, sparking fears of escalating conflict in the Middle East.

On the streets of Tehran, a small crowd celebrated Iran's missile attack on Israel while others are worried about the consequences of the Islamic Republic's boldest move yet in a year of escalating Middle East conflict.

Local media carried footage of what Iran said were 200 missiles as they were fired towards Israel on Tuesday (October 1, 2024) evening, while state television played upbeat music over the images and showed crowds of a few hundred people celebrating the attacks in the capital and other cities across the country.

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They carried Iranian, Palestinian and Lebanese flags, as well as the flag of Iran-allied Hezbollah, alongside portraits of its chief Hassan Nasrallah, killed in an Israeli air strike last week, and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh who was assassinated in Tehran in July.

The crowd chanted slogans of "Down with America" and "Down with Israel", while some set fire to Israeli flags.

At a gathering in central Tehran on Wednesday, 22-year-old university student Fatemeh Marzban said she felt "satisfied" with Iran's retaliation to a series of Israeli blows.

"Last night's operation made many people on the resistance front happy," Marzban said, as she thanked Iran's military for the attack.