TEHRAN (Halbeeg News)-Iranian demonstrators have taken to the streets across the country on Monday to mark the 40th anniversary of the 1979 revolution.
In Tehran, hundreds of thousands of marchers gathered at Azadi Square, one of the capital’s most iconic monuments built by the United States backed Shah and renamed after the victory of the forces loyal to Khomeini.
Iran organizes the nationwide rally every February 11 to highlight the size of grassroots support for the revolution, which replaced Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s government with the Islamic Republic under Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Domestically, the event is also known as Ten-Day Dawn to commemorate the period of violent protests following the February 1st return of revolution leader Khomeini from exile in France. It also marks the official end of the 2,500 years of the Persian Empire.
In an address to the demonstrators, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the 1979 revolution saved the country “from tyranny, colonization, and dependence”.
“This nation has managed to establish a system of the Islamic Republic and an independent system of government,” Rouhani said, as he stressed that the country has also managed to “foil the conspiracies” led by the US and Israel.
He also vowed that the country would continue to pursue its missile programme to defend the country from external threats.
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