Iranians mark US embassy takeover anniversary amid heightened tensions

TEHRAN — Thousands of Iranians rallied across the country on Tuesday to mark the anniversary of the 1979 takeover of the US embassy, amid heightened tensions with the United States and Israel.

Crowds gathered in cities including the capital Tehran, where demonstrators marched from Palestine Square to the former US embassy, waving Iranian flags and chanting slogans against the United States and Israel. Many carried portraits of Iranians killed in the 12-day conflict with Israel in June.

Throughout the day, participants dressed as Israeli soldiers pretended to mourn over fake coffins draped with the Star of David, mocking the country's losses in Gaza.

Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf told the crowd the anniversary symbolized the day Iranians "loudly and unitedly" rejected oppression, according to the state news agency IRNA.

He said Iran would continue to resist pressure from the United States, emphasizing that the country would not trade its independence for anything. He also criticized the former US embassy, calling it a "den of spies".

"Our feeling is much different (this year) because our country has been seriously attacked," said Sareh Habibi, a 17-year-old student.

"Our peers, teenagers and the youth, were martyred, and somehow it seems like a mission on our shoulders to come to the demonstration," she added.

Along the parade route, replicas of missiles, similar to the ones fired at Israeli cities during the conflict, were displayed bearing the slogan "We love to fight the Israeli regime".

According to state media, similar commemorations took place in several other cities, including Mashhad in the northeast, Kerman in the south and Rasht in the north.

The event commemorates Nov 4, 1979, when Iranian students stormed the US embassy in Tehran and seized dozens of hostages in a standoff.

Several dozen US diplomats were held hostage during the event, some for 444 days, marking a break between Tehran and Washington.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Monday that the incident revealed Washington's "true identity", alleging that documents taken from the embassy showed it was "a center for plotting" against Iran's Islamic Revolution.

Xinhua - Agencies