Iranians mark anniversary of 1979 Islamic revolution

TEHRAN

Iranians march during a rally commemorating anniversary of 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the late pro-U.S. Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and brought Islamic clerics to power, in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accused his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump of seeking to bring Iran "to its knees" yesterday as the country marked the 46th anniversary of the Islamic revolution.

Starting in the morning, Iranians began gathering in public spaces across the country to celebrate the 1979 establishment of the Islamic republic and the toppling of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

In Tehran, they headed to the symbolic Azadi tower, whose name means "freedom" in Persian, and which is in a square formerly named in honor of the shah.

"Trump says, 'we want to talk', and... [then] he signs in a memorandum all the conspiracies to bring our revolution to its knees," Pezeshkian told the crowd, referring to Trump's reinstatement of sanctions against Tehran earlier this month.

"We are not looking for war," he said, while adding that Iran "will never bow to foreigners."

Chanting anti-American and anti-Israeli slogans, crowds formed yesterday morning in the streets of Shiraz and Bandar Abbas in the south, Rasht in the north, Kermanshah and Sanandaj in the west, and the holy city of Mashhad in the east, according to images broadcast on television.

Attendees, many of them families, carried portraits of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the green, red and white flag of Iran, as well as the banners of Tehran-backed groups such as Hezbollah.

Iran's 10-day celebrations marking the ouster of the shah start each year on Jan. 31, the anniversary of the return to Tehran of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979 from exile.

In recent days, Iranian officials had urged citizens to attend the festivities in large numbers after Trump's sanctions announcement.