Ahlul Bayt (AS) International News Agency - ABNA: The nightly rallies, which began after the martyrdom of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei in February 2026, reached their 200th consecutive evening, according to ABNA correspondents Zainab and Ali, who reported from the streets. Crowds came out carrying two symbols that have defined the movement. One is the Iranian flag, held by co-host Zainab. The other is the red flag inscribed with یا لثارات الحسین, carried by co-host Ali, a banner traditionally associated with the pursuit of justice.
The correspondents noted that no other nation has sustained a nightly gathering of this kind. They pointed out that this is the first time in the world that any nation has done such a thing, and that this war has been full of firsts, citing the funeral of the Supreme Leader, in which 43 million people participated, describing it as the largest gathering in the world and in history.
A central theme running through the interviews was the rejection of the idea that those attending have nothing else to do. Participants stressed that they hold jobs, carry heavy study loads, and manage household responsibilities, yet still come out every night. For them, the rallies are not a pastime but an obligation, one they describe as the duty of free people wherever time and place require it. Several said they would continue for as long as it takes, even for the rest of their lives.
Underlying that obligation is grief. Participants described the martyred leader as a father figure and said their presence flows from the love they held for him and from a blood feud with America. Some spoke of drawing energy and hope from the crowds themselves, saying the people remain in high spirits and have never appeared tired, and that the gatherings renew their own motivation in turn.
A second theme was the rejection of negotiation and the embrace of resistance. Participants said peace and negotiation have been attempted several times and have failed, and will continue to fail, and that victory will come only through resistance. Others framed the rallies as a defense of the land itself, saying they come so that not a single handspan of the homeland's soil is given to a foreigner or a traitor, and so that Iran remains Iran. For some, the homeland is as dear as a mother, and that love, alongside love for the leader, brings them into the streets nightly. One participant described the rallies as a national duty, a way to express feelings about the catastrophe that occurred and to pursue justice against aggressors through international channels.
The demand driving the movement was stated without ambiguity by those on the streets. One young girl said plainly, I am not jobless, but for the blood of our martyred leader, I come every night to take revenge on America and Israel.
The rallies have now continued for 200 nights with no indication of slowing. What began as an outpouring of grief for a leader has become a sustained nightly movement rooted in grief, duty, and resistance, and participants say it will continue for as long as it takes.
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