Iranians held nationwide celebrations Thursday to commemorate the anniversary of the 1979 revolution that ousted a pro-Western monarchy and brought Islamists to power, with some making a point of taunting the U.S. despite Iran's landmark nuclear deal with world powers. State television aired footage of rallies in Tehran and other cities and towns across the country, where demonstrators chanted slogans against the U.S. and Israel, and many streets were decorated with anti-U.S. and anti-Israeli banners and posters. The revelers also burned the flags of both countries. In the re-enactment, a group of Iranians pretending to be the American sailors knelt on the floor with their hands behind their heads, duplicating the humiliating photo Iran released of the sailors in January. In another re-enactment of the event, the "sailors" were seen in chains. Authorities also displayed an array of weaponry and military hardware, including the Emad long-range ballistic surface-to-surface missile and a version of the Shahed drone that flew over a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf last month. According to state television, millions of people turned out nationwide at the revolution rallies. Speaking at Tehran's Azadi (Freedom) Square, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said, "World public opinion has accepted that the propaganda launched by Zionism, global arrogance and the U.S. against the Iranian nation has been a lie. "We managed to thwart the Iranophobia project and make the world realize that the Iranian nation is reasonable and seeks peace and harmony alongside other nations in the region," he added. "The world realized that the era of a language of threat and humiliation was over." Rouhani then urged Iranians to vote in the upcoming Feb. 26 parliamentary elections, a showdown between his supporters and hard-liners. Ghasem Soleimani, chief of the Quds Force of the elite Revolutionary Guard, also appeared at one of the rallies. His presence was notable because it followed rumors that he had been seriously wounded in the civil war in Syria, where he has been repeatedly dispatched to help forces loyal to embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad. While shying away from the spotlight, Soleimani has become a folk hero in Iran over his exploits in both Syria and Iraq. Earlier this week another purportedly recent picture of him appeared in Iranian media showing him standing next to an Iranian movie director.
Credit: Reuters
At one rally, a group of demonstrators reconstructed an incident from last month of 10 American sailors taken into Iranian custody. The sailors were captured after two of their boats mistakenly entered Iranian territorial waters; they were released the next day.
Iran celebrates revolution by re-enacting capture of US sailors
Millions of Iranians celebrate anniversary of 1979 Islamic Revolution, burning Israeli, U.S. flags • Authorities display weaponry, including a version of the Shahed drone which flew over a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf last month.
