Neighbouring Countries' Citizens Take to Streets to Condemn Trump and Netanyahu

Pro-Palestinian supporters took to the streets across the region in demonstrations marking Quds Day, an annual commemoration initiated by Iranian revolutionary leader Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979 and observed on the last Friday of Ramadan to express solidarity with Palestine and opposition to Zionism.

Demonstrators carrying images of US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chanted slogans against the United States and Israel during the protests, with one notable demonstration held at the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Friday, 13 March 2026.

The 2026 observance coincided with an escalation in US-Israeli military operations against Iran. According to reports, the attacks have killed at least 1,444 people, including Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, whilst Iran’s Ministry of Health reported that 18,551 others have been wounded in US-Israeli strikes since 28 February.

The conflict has expanded beyond Iran, with the Israeli military continuing operations across multiple districts in Tehran and launching sustained attacks against Hezbollah militia forces allied with Iran throughout Lebanon and in the capital Beirut. The US military has also suffered casualties, with four of six crew members aboard a refuelling aircraft that crashed in western Iraq confirmed dead. In response, Iran has escalated its own operations, launching additional missiles and unmanned drones against Israel.