Above photo: Reuters / Alaa Al Marjani TPX Images of the day.
In Defiance Of US-Israeli Attacks.
The US secretary of war claimed Iran’s leaders were ‘hiding like rats’.
Amid US claims that Iran’s leadership was hiding underground “like rats,” the Islamic Republic’s top officials appeared in public and openly walked the streets while attending a Quds Day rally in the capital, Tehran, on 13 March.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and security chief Ali Larijani were all seen among demonstrators at the Quds Day rally, held yearly on the last Friday of Ramadan to express solidarity with the Palestinian people and to oppose Israel and Zionism.
Proud and honored to have accompanied the Strong and Resilient People of Iran to mark International Quds Day.
Iranians will ALWAYS stand firm and NEVER cower before cowardly attacks.
Video: Reaction of demonstrators when Tehran was bombed today is nightmare for aggressors. pic.twitter.com/0dtcHXMlTE
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) March 13, 2026
“Despite the so-called ‘brutal attacks’ by the Zionist regime and the United States, millions of Iranians flooded the streets of Tehran and cities across the country. Their will is unbreakable,” Foreign Minister Araghchi stated during an interview on the street.
The officials marched despite brutal US and Israeli bombings, which have killed dozens of top officials, including supreme leader Ali Khamenei, since the war on Iran began on 28 February.
The officials’ public appearance contradicted a statement by US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who claimed on Friday that Iran’s leadership was “desperate and hiding, they have gone underground, cowering. That is what rats do.”
U.S. Secretary of War: “Iran’s officials are hiding underground.” 😂
Meanwhile in Iran… Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi strolls through Tehran at the Quds Day rally, greeting millions of Iranians with a smile.
Araghchi:
“ Despite the so-called ‘brutal attacks’ by the Zionist… pic.twitter.com/GZfilJG5fG
— Haider Ali (@Haider4PTI) March 13, 2026
Hegseth also claimed without evidence that Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba, had been injured in a US strike. Mojtaba was appointed to replace his father as supreme leader earlier this week.
A video of President Pezeshkian showed him moving through the crowd, speaking with members of the public, and stopping to take selfies with marchers at the rally.
“It’s clear they’re running out of steam,” security chief Larijani said, speaking to local TV at the rally.
“Trump’s problem is that he doesn’t understand that the Iranian nation is mature and determined,” he added.
During the rally, a large explosion struck near Ferdowsi Square in Tehran, a location at the heart of the rally and filled with demonstrators, Iranian state TV reported.
Video published by the semiofficial Tasnim News Agency showed gray smoke rising as demonstrators screamed “Death to Israel!” and “Death to America!”
Mohamad Elmasry, a professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, said that Secretary of War Hegseth’s comments show he is trying to project success even as the US public turns against the war.
“[The war] is very unpopular. People are seeing gas prices rise. Now Americans [US soldiers] are being killed … and so Hegseth and Trump are trying to project confidence,” he said.
