TEHRAN -- Iran on Tuesday began celebrations marking the 43rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, which overthrew the U.S.-backed Pahlavi regime.
The Ten-Day Dawn Celebrations start with ceremonies commemorating the epoch-making return of Imam Khomeini, the late founder of the Islamic Republic, from 15 years of exile.
Millions of Iranians welcomed the Imam in Tehran on February 1, 1979, whose arrival added fresh momentum to months of popular protests.
Ten days later, the rallies culminated in the ouster of the Pahlavi regime, bringing the curtain on more than two millennia of monarchy in Iran.
The Islamic Revolution then established a new political system; a republic based on Islamic values and democracy.
“Like every year, we gathered today in this holy place to pay respect to Imam Khomeini. A man who changed the course of history in our country and established a political system that respects our beliefs as Muslims,” a participant at the ceremonies held at the mausoleum of Imam Khomeini told Press TV on Tuesday.
On Monday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei visited the mausoleum to pay tribute to the eminent founder of the Islamic Republic.
Ayatollah Khamenei also visited Behesht Zahra cemetery where many Iranians martyred in the course of the revolution and during the 1980-1988 war of the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein on Iran are lying in eternal rest.
“We lost many of our beloved ones for the sake of the Islamic Republic. By celebrating the event, we seek to say no to foreign interference in our country. We still stick to those ideals no matter how much pressure and sanctions the U.S. imposes on our nation,” another participants at the ceremonies said.
Less than two months after the victory of the Islamic Revolution, Iranians took part in a referendum, where more than 98 percent of the eligible voters voted ‘Yes’ to the Islamic Republic.
The Islamic Revolution, which in 1979 threw into the dustbin of history the Anglo-American Pahlavi potentate, is now viewed as a potent unstoppable force in the region and beyond.
Examples in this regard are the heroic struggles of the Palestinian and Lebanese people against the occupying regime of Israel.
The Syrian government and people have also succeeded in saving their country from the plot of the U.S. and its allies to dismember it, thanks to the inspiration from Iran.
In Yemen, popular forces have valiantly fought off Saudi-Emirati invaders by taking the battle to the enemy’s camp.
In many countries, supporters of the Islamic Revolution celebrate the anniversary along with the Iranians.