An Israeli flag is burned by protestors at the 2019 “Quds Day” demonstration in Tehran. Photo: Reuters/Meghdad Madali.

Iran will not hold its annual “Quds Day” rallies calling for Israel’s annihilation this year, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The Islamic Republic’s semi-official Tasnim state news agency reported that General Ramezan Sharif, described as head of the “Intifada (Uprising) and Quds Center at Iran’s Islamic Propagation Coordination Council,” made the announcement at a press conference Sunday. Sharif is typically referred to in Iranian state media reports as a spokesman for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Despite the cancellations, however, Iran’s “Supreme Leader” Ali Khamenei will make an address on May 22 to mark Quds Day, and the head of Hamas’ “political bureau” Ismail Haniyeh or another top terrorist ally will appear as a guest in Tehran.

Quds Day is usually marked with huge rallies and marches, with slogans and speeches denouncing Israel and often expressing genocidal attitudes toward the Jewish state, most notably the chant “death to Israel.”

According to Al Arabiya, Sharif said that the regime would be looking for alternatives to mark the occasion, saying, “Quds Day can be celebrated nationally and internationally through other ways. … We can make good use of cyberspace in this regard.”

Iran has been particularly hard-hit by the coronavirus, with almost all economic activity and most religious sites shut down.