Tehran, Iran – Waving Iranian flags, chanting “Death to America” and burning U. S. and Israeli flags, hundreds of thousands of people poured out onto…
Tehran, Iran – Waving Iranian flags, chanting “Death to America” and burning U. S. and Israeli flags, hundreds of thousands of people poured out onto the streets across Iran on Monday, marking the date that’s considered victory day in the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
On Feb. 11 that year, Iran’s military stood down after days of street battles, allowing the revolutionaries to sweep across the country while the government of U. S.-backed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi resigned and the Islamic Republic was born.
In Tehran, crowds streamed in the rain from a dozen of the capital’s far-flung neighborhoods to mass in central Tehran Azadi, or Freedom Square, on Monday, waving Iranian flags and chanting “Death to America” – a chant that has been standard fare at anti-U. S. rallies across Iran.
Chants of “Death to Israel” and “Death to Britain” followed, and demonstrators burned U. S. and Israeli flags. Iranian state TV, which said millions participated in the celebrations, ran archive footage of the days of the uprising and played revolutionary songs. It later broadcast footage showing crowds across this country of 80 million.
The 6-mile-long downtown Enghelab, or Revolution Street, in Tehran was decorated with huge balloons as loudspeakers blared out revolutionary and nationalist songs to encourage people to join the rallies.
Every year, the anniversary festivities start on Feb. 1 – the day Khomeini returned home from France after 14 years in exile to become the supreme leader as Shiite clerics took power – and continue for 10 days, climaxing on Feb. 11.
