Millions of Iranians mark Eid al-Fitr with prayers to end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan

Worshipers participate in Eid al-Fitr prayers at the Imam Reza shrine in Iran's holy city of Mashhad, June 26, 2017. (Photo by IRNA)

Millions of Iranians have celebrated Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan by saying the occasion’s special prayers.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei led the Eid prayers in Tehran on Monday, and felicitated the Iranian people and other Muslims on the occasion, which he called “a day of compassion and reward.” 

“This year Ramadan was a blessed month, in a true sense for our nation. The atmosphere was one of spirituality - a genuine Ramadan," the Leader said.

Ayatollah Khamenei praised people's participation in Quds Day rallies which are held each year on the last Friday of Ramadan. 

"People participated in Quds Day rallies in the scorching heat of long summer days. This was a truly great job that will be recorded in history," the Leader said.

The Leader further praised the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)’s response to a June 7 terrorist attack in Tehran with ballistic missiles which targeted Daesh headquarters in Syria's Dayr al-Zawr.  

"This powerful offensive of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps against the enemies was also a great job," he said.

Ayatollah Khamenei leads Eid al-Fitr prayers at Imam Khomeini Prayer Grounds in Tehran, June 26, 2017. (Photo by IRNA)

The Leader cited cultural issues among the most important tasks, saying there are many loopholes in this field which the enemies use to infiltrate the country.

Touching on the regional developments, Ayatollah Khamenei said issues surrounding Bahrain, Yemen and other Muslim countries are "major wounds on the body of Islam."

"The Islamic world must explicitly support the Yemeni people; they must express their disavowal and aversion of tyrants and oppressors who assaulted them in the way you saw during the month of Ramadan," the Leader said. 

"The same goes for the people of Bahrain and Kashmir; our nation can be placed as the backbone of this massive movement of the Islamic world," Ayatollah Khamenei added.

President Hassan Rouhani also issued a message, congratulating Muslims on the occasion of the Eid.

“Across Muslim societies, understanding the grandeur of this month and this Eid represents the great festival of unity of all Muslims and their collective diligence in reducing differences and eliminating such plights as poverty, extremism, violence, and terrorism from the geography of the Muslim world,” the message read.

The president also thanked the nation for their wholesale participation in the demonstrations marking the International Quds Day on Friday.

The participation, he said, had sent across their “clarion call in defense of the rightfulness of the region’s downtrodden nations, liberation of the noble al-Quds, and condemnation of Takfiri terrorism.”

Eid al-Fitr prayers in the northern Iranian city of Rasht on June 26, 2017. (Photo by IRNA)

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called on the leaders of Muslim nations to "use the occasion to promote peace and unity instead of conflict and discord."

Muslims in Asia and a number of Middle Eastern countries celebrated the Eid-al-Fitr religious holiday on Sunday with prayers for peace as they marked the end of Islam's holy month of Ramadan.

In each Muslim country, religious scholars are tasked with observing the sky to spot the crescent of the new moon, which signifies the beginning of Shawwal, the month that follows Ramadan in Islamic calendar.

In line with their respective scholars’ observations, many Muslim nations marked the occasion on Sunday. In Iran, however, the festivities fell on Monday, when the Iranians laid out their prayer rugs on the streets to say the Eid prayers.