TEHRAN – Millions of Iranians from all walks of life took to the streets across the country on Friday to mark the anniversary of the U.S. embassy takeover, which is named as the National Day against the Global Arrogance.
The rallies were held in more than 900 cities, including in the capital Tehran where demonstrators gathered outside the former U.S. embassy.
The demonstrators chanted slogans as they carried placards against the U.S. and the occupying regime of Israel, strongly condemning the West’s hostile policies of against Iran. Some 3,500 Iranian and foreign reporters covered the protest rallies.
The demonstrations turned into a venue to put to display the unity of the Iranian nation. Young people sang songs played in the early years of the Islamic Revolution, bringing to life the days after 1979 when the Iranians ousted the U.S.-backed Pahlavi regime.
People also held placards in support of the security forces who have been confronting foreign-back violent riots in the past few weeks.
“Police are the main pillar of security,” read one of the placards amid a media war to undermine security forces and turn people against them.
The protesters also voiced their strong support for Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. “Labaik ya Khamenei” [I respond to your call O Khamenei], “down with America” and “down with Israel”, they chanted.
A group of women held placards that read “Hijab is the rule of God not government,” signaling that the propaganda waged by the Western media will not harm the Iranian women’s adherence to Islamic rules.
The participants also walked over and set on fire U.S. and Israeli flags during the rallies which marked President Ebrahim Raisi addressing the rally in Tehran.
Other programs such as conferences, forums, and art festivals were organized with the main theme of fighting global arrogance.
Less than a year after the victory of the Islamic Revolution that toppled a U.S.-backed monarchy, Iranian university students seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran, which had become a center of espionage, planning to overthrow the newly established Islamic system in Iran.
The students who seized the embassy later published documents proving that the compound was indeed engaged in plans and measures to overthrow the Islamic republic.
Every year on the 13th day of the Iranian month of Aban, the Iranian nation, particularly the students, holds rallies across the country to mark the day.
This year’s Nov. 4 rallies come amid violent foreign-backed riots in the country which have claimed the lives of dozens of people and security forces.
Iran’s Intelligence Ministry and the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) issued a joint statement on October 28, pointing to the major role of foreign spy agencies, especially the CIA, in orchestrating the violent riots in Iran in the past weeks.
In a resolution issued at the end of the rallies, the participants renewed their allegiance with the ideals of Imam Khomeini, the late founder of the Islamic Revolution, as well as Ayatollah Khamenei.
They also denounced a deadly terrorist attack at Shah Cheragh shrine in the city of Shiraz last week, calling on the authorities to “promptly find and punish perpetrators of this heinous crime as well as the origins of tragedies in the past month.”
While the latest “sedition” has failed, U.S., UK, Israel, and Saudi spy agencies “will not leave the youth of this nation alone,” read the resolution, calling on the families and teachers to “explain realities” to the younger generation and “foil the enemies’ plot.”
The participants also called on the authorities to address people’s livelihood problems and differentiate between true protesters and rioters.