<p>Beirut: Tens of thousands of demonstrators poured into the streets across Iran, Iraq and Lebanon on Friday after midday prayers, in a sweeping display of fury toward Israel amid a rapidly widening regional conflict.</p>.<p>In Tehran, the Iranian capital, crowds surged from mosques into central squares, trampling and burning Israeli and American flags while holding aloft portraits of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. </p><p>Chants of "Death to Israel" and "Death to America" rang out from the sea of demonstrators as they marched in what Iranian state media called protests of "rage and victory." </p><p>Similar demonstrations in support of the country's military were also reported in at least half a dozen other Iranian cities, including Tabriz and Mashhad.</p>.<p>The protests unfolded as Israel and Iran continued to trade fire despite a renewed diplomatic push in Geneva, where European leaders met with Iran's foreign minister to present a proposal aimed at de-escalating the conflict. Earlier Friday, Israel said it had carried out overnight strikes on missile factories and a research center linked to Iran's nuclear program. Hours later, Iran launched a fresh barrage of missiles toward Israeli cities.</p>.<p>In Iraq, thousands gathered Friday in Baghdad's Sadr City district -- a stronghold of the powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who has at times resisted Iranian influence -- to denounce Israel and express solidarity with Iran. Under the blistering sun, many protesters wore white burial shrouds, a Shiite symbol of martyrdom, and some burned Israeli and American flags.</p>.<p>In Basra and Najaf, two other Shiite-majority cities in Iraq, crowds echoed similarly defiant sentiments.</p>.<p>In the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, where the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah holds sway, supporters also staged rallies, marching amid the rubble of neighborhoods heavily damaged during Hezbollah's recent war with Israel.</p>.<p>People in the crowds pumped their fists as they pledged support for Khamenei, an ally of Hezbollah's former leader, Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike last year.</p>.<p>Still reeling from its recent war with Israel, Hezbollah -- Iran's most powerful regional ally -- has for now indicated privately that it does not intend to intervene in Iran's conflict with Israel, according to senior Lebanese officials and Western diplomats.</p>
<p>Beirut: Tens of thousands of demonstrators poured into the streets across Iran, Iraq and Lebanon on Friday after midday prayers, in a sweeping display of fury toward Israel amid a rapidly widening regional conflict.</p>.<p>In Tehran, the Iranian capital, crowds surged from mosques into central squares, trampling and burning Israeli and American flags while holding aloft portraits of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. </p><p>Chants of "Death to Israel" and "Death to America" rang out from the sea of demonstrators as they marched in what Iranian state media called protests of "rage and victory." </p><p>Similar demonstrations in support of the country's military were also reported in at least half a dozen other Iranian cities, including Tabriz and Mashhad.</p>.<p>The protests unfolded as Israel and Iran continued to trade fire despite a renewed diplomatic push in Geneva, where European leaders met with Iran's foreign minister to present a proposal aimed at de-escalating the conflict. Earlier Friday, Israel said it had carried out overnight strikes on missile factories and a research center linked to Iran's nuclear program. Hours later, Iran launched a fresh barrage of missiles toward Israeli cities.</p>.<p>In Iraq, thousands gathered Friday in Baghdad's Sadr City district -- a stronghold of the powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who has at times resisted Iranian influence -- to denounce Israel and express solidarity with Iran. Under the blistering sun, many protesters wore white burial shrouds, a Shiite symbol of martyrdom, and some burned Israeli and American flags.</p>.<p>In Basra and Najaf, two other Shiite-majority cities in Iraq, crowds echoed similarly defiant sentiments.</p>.<p>In the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, where the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah holds sway, supporters also staged rallies, marching amid the rubble of neighborhoods heavily damaged during Hezbollah's recent war with Israel.</p>.<p>People in the crowds pumped their fists as they pledged support for Khamenei, an ally of Hezbollah's former leader, Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike last year.</p>.<p>Still reeling from its recent war with Israel, Hezbollah -- Iran's most powerful regional ally -- has for now indicated privately that it does not intend to intervene in Iran's conflict with Israel, according to senior Lebanese officials and Western diplomats.</p>