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State-organised rallies were taking place across Iran on Monday to mark the 40th anniversary of the seizure of the US embassy in Tehran.
Thousands of school pupils and university students attended the anniversary event in the country’s capital, which took place outside the former US embassy.

Similar demonstrations were organised in other provinces.
Banners were seen emblazoned with the words “Down with the US” and condemning the politics of the “Great Satan,” as the United States is frequently referred to in Iranian propaganda.

In November 1979, students seized the embassy in protest at the decision to allow the toppled Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi into the US for medical treatment. US embassy employees were held hostage for 444 days.
The crisis at the US mission, which took place soon after the Iranian Revolution in 1979, set the tone for decades of mistrust and poor ties between Washington and Tehran.
The shah was installed in 1953 in a coup partly orchestrated by British secret services and the US Central Intelligence Agency.
In a statement compiled for the 40th anniversary of the embassy occupation, Tehran said it would not stray from its anti-US policy and vowed to remain true to independence, freedom and the Islamic Republic.

A US flag was burned at the end of the Tehran rally, which was broadcast live on various Iranian television stations.
After the occupation and resulting hostage crisis, the embassy became known in Iran as a “nest of spies” and was later turned into a museum. It purports to show that the location had been used by US diplomatic staff purely for espionage purposes.
The US broke off diplomatic relations with Iran over the embassy takeover. They have not been reinstated.
Many of Iran's reformist politicians have criticised the country's conduct in relation to the hostage crisis, and even the former leaders of the student occupation, Mohsen Mirdamadi and Ebrahim Asgharzadeh, would go on to become critical of the regime and its foreign policy. Both have spent brief spells in prison for their activism.

There were signs of a thaw between Iran and the US between 2013 and 2016 when the countries' top diplomats resumed direct contact, ultimately leading to the signing of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers to limit Iran's nuclear capabilities.
However, US-Iranian relations become as tense as ever since President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the landmark deal in 2018 as part of Washington's current policy of “maximum pressure” on Tehran.


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Iran

Iran marks 40 years since US embassy takeover with flag-burning rally

Iranians burn a US flag during an anti-US demonstration marking the 40th anniversary of the US embassy takeover in Tehran. Photo: EPA

With anti-American slogans and effigies mocking US President Donald Trump (L), thousands of Iranians rally outside the former US embassy in the capital Tehran, on November 4, 2019, to mark the 40th anniversary of the Iran hostage crisis. - On November 4, 1979, less than nine months after the toppling of Iran's American-backed shah, students overran the embassy complex to demand the United States hand over the ousted ruler after he was admitted to a US hospital. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)

epa07971221 Iranian women take part in an anti-US demonstration marking the 40th anniversary of US Embassy takeover, in front of the former US embassy in Tehran, Iran, 04 November 2019. According to media reports, thousands of protesters chanting 'Death to America' gathered at the former US embassy in Tehran to mark the 40th anniversary of the start of the Iran hostage crisis. Iranian students occupied the embassy on 04 November 1979 after the USA granted permission to the late Iranian Shah to be hospitalized in the United States. Over 50 US diplomats and guards were held hostage by students for 444 days. Iran and US tension over 2015 nuclear deal is going on. EPA-EFE/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

Iranian students attend an anti U.S. demonstration, marking the 40th anniversary of the U.S. embassy takeover, near the old U.S. embassy in Tehran, Iran November 4, 2019. Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY

epaselect epa07971215 An Iranian man wearing an effigy mask of US President Donald J. Trump takes part in an anti-US demonstration marking the 40th anniversary of US Embassy takeover, in front of the former US embassy in Tehran, Iran, 04 November 2019. According to media reports, thousands of protesters chanting 'Death to America' gathered at the former US embassy in Tehran to mark the 40th anniversary of the start of the Iran hostage crisis. Iranian students occupied the embassy on 04 November 1979 after the USA granted permission to the late Iranian Shah to be hospitalized in the United States. Over 50 US diplomats and guards were held hostage by students for 444 days. Iran and US tension over 2015 nuclear deal is going on. EPA-EFE/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

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Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attends a meeting with thousands of students in Tehran on Sunday. Photo: AP

FILE - In this May 9, 2018, file photo, Iranian demonstrators burn a picture of the U.S. President Donald Trump during a protest in front of the former U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)

40 years on, Iranians recall 1979 US Embassy hostage crisis

The second released group of US embassy staffers in Tehran hold a press conference in 1979. Photo: AFP

(FILES) A file photo taken on November 03, 1999 shows an Iranian woman walking past an anti-US mural at the former US embassy in Tehran. - On November 4, 1979, less than nine months after the toppling of Iran's American-backed shah, students overran the complex to demand the United States hand over the ousted ruler after he was admitted to a US hospital. It took a full 444 days for the crisis to end with the release of 52 Americans, but the US broke off diplomatic relations with Iran in 1980 and ties have been frozen ever since. (Photo by HENGHAMEH FAHIMI / AFP)

In this Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019 photo, veteran Iranian freelance photojournalist Kaveh Kazemi, who covered events following the U.S. embassy takeover in 1979, speaks with The Associated Press in front of the former embassy, in Tehran, Iran. Kazemi recalled taking pictures from behind the gate where the Iranian militant students would usher blindfolded American hostages to those gathered outside waving anti-American banners and calling for the extradition of the deposed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iranian revolutionary students climb the US embassy's gate in Tehran in 1979. Photo: AFP

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Thousands of school pupils and university students attended the anniversary event chanting ‘down with the US’ and condemning the ‘Great Satan’



Thousands of school pupils and university students attended the anniversary event in the country’s capital, chanting ‘down with the US’ and condemning the politics of the ‘Great Satan’.


United States

Donald Trump

Iran marks 40 years since US embassy takeover with flag-burning rally

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Thousands of school pupils and university students attended the anniversary event chanting ‘down with the US’ and condemning the ‘Great Satan’

Thousands of school pupils and university students attended the anniversary event chanting ‘down with the US’ and condemning the ‘Great Satan’