Iran Marks 45th Anniversary of Revolution With Calls for Death to US, Israel
Iran marked the 45th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution on Sunday with marches and celebrations in major streets and squares across the country.
In the capital, Tehran, crowds waved Iranian flags, chanted religious slogans, and carried placards saying “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” a traditional sight at such events. Iranians also burned US and Israeli flags, another common sight at such rallies.
An Iranian military display was put on at Azadi Square in central Tehran, showing the Qasem Soleimani and Sejjil ballistic missiles, the Simorgh satellite carrier, and various drones. During the celebrations, a paratrooper jumped from a plane into the square, carrying a Palestinian flag.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi made a speech broadcast by state television in which he called on the United Nations to “expel the Zionist regime” and stop the bombing of Gaza. The watching crowds chanted, “Death to Israel.”
In the 1979 revolution, Iran’s imperial ruler, the shah, who had embarked on a program to reform and modernize the country, was overthrown by religious rebels, who soon instituted the hardline theocratic regime that continues to rule Iran today.
