Iran Guards ‘Capture’ Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa Mosque In War Game

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian media are reporting that thousands of paramilitary forces from the country’s powerful Revolutionary Guard have held a war game simulating the capture of Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa Mosque from Israeli control.

The reports say the forces stormed and liberated a replica of the mosque. They say that 120 brigades of Basij, the paramilitary unit of the Guard, occupied hypothetical enemy positions during Friday’s exercise in the holy city of Qom in central Iran.

The mosque, located at a compound holy to Jews and Muslims, has been at the heart of weeks of unrest between Israel and the Palestinians.

Iran, Israel’s arch-enemy, frequently expresses solidarity with the Palestinians and holds an annual “Jerusalem Day” each year on the last Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan.