Tehran reported an attack on its nuclear enrichment plant and Israel threatened to intensify bombing as thousands of Iranians offered Eid al-Fitr prayers on Saturday to mark the end of the Ramadan fast.
Iran’s supreme leader traditionally leads Eid prayers, but Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who came to power after his father was killed in a US-Israeli strike earlier this month, has remained out of the public eye.
Instead, the head of the judiciary, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ezei, attended prayers at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque in central Tehran, which was packed, and worshipers spilled out into the streets outside.
The previous evening, when the city was celebrating Nowruz, the Persian New Year, airstrikes had marred the atmosphere.
“The New Year atmosphere was spreading throughout the city. Places like Tajrish or Golestan Shahrak, where I visited, were full of well-dressed and beautiful women buying flowers,” said Farid, an advertising executive who reached AFP via an online message.