Iranians poured into streets in cities across the Islamic Republic on Sunday to mark the National Day of the Fight against Global Arrogance and the anniversary of the 1979 takeover of the US embassy in Tehran.
Demonstrators in Tehran, mostly school and university students, gathered on Sunday outside the former US diplomatic mission, also known as the “Den of Espionage,” to express their opposition to the arrogant policies and attitudes of the enemies, particularly the US.
The protesters slammed the US government as the nation’s main enemy, condemning the US president’s rhetoric against Iran and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).
Similar rallies are being held in more than 1,000 cities and towns across the vast country, with participants chanting “Death to the US”, “Death to Israel”, and “Hayhat minna az-zilla” (Never to Humiliation).
This year’s rallies come after the US administration decided on Friday to reimpose all sanctions lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei said on Saturday the US has been trying for the past 40 years to regain the domination it had over Iran under the Shah but to no avail.
“There is an important fact here, that in this 40-year-old challenge, the American side has been defeated and the side of the Islamic Republic has been victorious,” he said, addressing a group of students in Tehran.
“America’s goal with sanctions is to cripple and hold back Iran’s economy, but the outcome is that the push toward self-sufficiency has expanded in the country,” the Leader said, according to Press TV.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) issued a statement on Saturday, saying the Iranian nation will give President Donald Trump a “slap in the face” through their participation in nationwide rallies to mark the embassy takeover.
On November 4, 1979, a group of university students took over the embassy, which they believed had turned into a center of espionage, plotting to overthrow the nascent Islamic Republic, and held 52 American diplomats for 444 days.
Documents found at the mission corroborated claims by the revolutionary students that Washington had been using the compound to hatch plots against Iran.
The late founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini, hailed the takeover as a “second revolution” after the 1979 Islamic Revolution toppled the Shah of Iran, who was a close ally of the US in Iran.
Source: Iranian media
