Iran Marks Anniversary Of U.S. Embassy Seizure

RFL/RE – Thousands of Iranians marched in Tehran to mark the anniversary of the 1979 seizure of the U.S. Embassy that led Washington to cut diplomatic ties with Iran.

The demonstrators gathered at the former U.S. Embassy in the Iranian capital where the crowd chanted “Death to Israel” and “Down with the U.S.” during the celebration.

Similar events were being staged across the country, Iranian state television reported.

Demonstrators burned an effigy of U.S. President Donald Trump as well as Israeli and U.S. flags.

Anti-American sentiment is surging in Iran following Trump’s decision to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers despite Tehran’s compliance with the agreement.

The U.S. administration on November 2, announced the reimposition of a second wave of sanctions to take effect on November 5 against Tehran, targeting the energy, shipbuilding, shipping, and financial sectors.

In August, Trump began reintroducing sanctions on the Iranian economy, saying the terms of the accord were not strict enough to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and accusing Tehran of supporting militant activity in the region. Iran denies that.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on November 3 portrayed the sanctions as part of a long tradition of American hostility toward the Islamic Republic, which he said had prevailed as “the winner.”

On November 4, 1979, Iranian militant students known as the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam’s Line stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking 52 Americans hostage for 444 days after Washington refused to hand over Iran’s toppled shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, for trial in Iran.

Some of the hostages were subjected to psychological torture and mistreatment.

The two countries have had no diplomatic relations since then.

Similar protests take place every year outside the embassy compound, widely known in Iran as the “den of spies.” It is now a cultural center.

With reporting by AP and Fars