Iranians staged a mass rally on Sunday at the premises of the former U.S. embassy, chanting slogans against the U.S. military deployment in the Middle East, its hegemony, and the Israeli violence.
The rally is to mark the 45th anniversary of the former U.S. embassy takeover in Tehran and the "National Day of the Fight against Global Arrogance", also known as the "National Student Day".
"The United States has been threatening Iran for more than 40 years and falsely claimed to provide security to the region, but it has never tried to do so. Their aim is to commit crimes and kill," said Ghiasi, an Iranian protester.
The protesters also said that with the support and connivance of the United States, Israel continues to provoke other countries, causing regional tensions to escalate. They said that Iran will resolutely safeguard its national interests and not be afraid of U.S. and Israeli threats.
"Iran is not a country that seeks war or instigates tension in the region. Iran is a country with a long history and strong strength. We will not allow countries like the United States to infringe on Iran's national interests. We will definitely resist them," said Safari, another Iranian protester.
"The United States has brought nothing good to every country it 'set foot on', such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and others, only leaving behind destruction and displacement. The United States has no 'good record' demonstrating its efforts to establish security. It is because that the United States has a history filled with acts of destruction, looting and pillage," said Shahram, also an Iranian protester.
A few months after the victory of Iran's Islamic Revolution in February 1979, Iranian university students took over the U.S. Embassy building, saying that the embassy was, based on the documents found in it, planning to overthrow the Islamic Republic and serving as an espionage base for the U.S. government. Iran commemorates the takeover every year by holding nationwide rallies.