‘Death to America’ chants and flag waving in Iran to mark 40th anniversary of Islamic Revolution
- Crowds gather in central Tehran and other cities to celebrate removal of US-backed shah in 1979
Hundreds of thousands of people poured out onto the streets of Tehran and other cities and towns across Iran on Monday, marking the date 40 years ago that is considered victory day in the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
On February 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 Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi resigned. It was also the day Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini declared Iran an Islamic Republic.
In Tehran, crowds streamed in the rain from a dozen of the capital’s far-flung neighbourhoods to mass in central Tehran Azadi, or Freedom Square, waving Iranian flags and chanting “Death to America” – a chant that has been standard fare at anti-US rallies across Iran.
Downtown Enghelab, or Revolution Street, was decorated with huge balloons and loudspeakers blared out revolutionary and nationalist songs to encourage people to join the rallies. Iranian state television ran archive footage of the days of the uprising and played revolutionary songs.
