DUBAI: Hundreds of thousands of Iranians marched and some burned U.S. flags on Monday to mark the 40th anniversary of the triumph of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Shi`ite cleric who toppled the Shah in an Islamic Revolution that rattles the West to this day.
On Feb 11, 1979, Iran`s army declared its neutrality, paving the way for the fall of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the United States` closest ally in the Middle East.
State TV showed crowds defying cold rainy weather and carrying Iranian flags while shouting “Death to Israel, Death to America,” trademark chants of the revolution which ousted the United States` most important ally in the Middle East.
“Much to the dismay of America, the revolution has reached its 40th year,” read one banner.
Soldiers, students, clerics and black-clad women holding small children thronged streets across Iran, many carrying portraits of Khomeini, who died in 1989, and Iran`s current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The large turnout in state-sponsored rallies came as Iranians face mounting economic hardships.
Last year, Iran cracked down on protests over poor living standards in over 80 cities and towns that posed the most serious challenge to its clerical leadership since a 2009 revolt over disputed elections.
Prices of bread, cooking oil and other staples have soared since President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from the 2015 nuclear deal last year and reimposed sanctions.
In January, President Hassan Rouhani said Iran was facing its worst economic crisis since the Shah was toppled. But he remained defiant as Iranians recalled the end of a monarch who catered to the rich and unleashed secret police on dissenters.
In a speech at Tehran`s Azadi (Freedom) square, Rouhani said U.S. efforts to isolate Iran would fail.
“We will not let America become victorious… Iranian people have and will have some economic difficulties but we will overcome the problems by helping each other,” he said.
U.S. AND ISRAELI “DOGS”
Marchers carried cardboard cutouts of dogs. One had the face of Trump and the other the face of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
State TV showed a cartoon of the Shah being thrown into the “dustbin of history”, wearing clothes in U.S. colours and holding Iranian newspapers headlined “The Shah has left!”
Washington and its Arab allies have viewed Iran with great suspicion since the Islamic Revolution, fearing Khomeini`s radical ideology would inspire militants across the Middle East.
Today, Iran enjoys growing influence through proxies in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, raising concerns in Sunni Saudi Arabia, which accuses its rival of trying to dominate the Middle East. Tehran denies that.
“The world saw when Iran decided to help people of Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine and Yemen, they achieved victory. The enemies are now confessing to their defeat,” said Rouhani.
Some Iranians criticise their leaders for what they say are foreign adventures which squander funds. Iranian leaders say they are protecting national interests.
Iran displayed its ballistic missile capabilities during a parade, including the Zolfaqar, a ground-to-ground missile with a 700 km (435 miles) range and the Qiam, with a range of 800 km, according to Tasnim news agency.
A senior commander in Iran`s Revolutionary Guards said Tehran would not withdraw forces from the region, dismissing U.S. calls for Iranian clout to be curbed.
“The enemy cannot ask us to leave the region. They must leave the region,” said Brigadier General Hossein Salami, deputy head of Iran`s Revolutionary Guards. “We will help any Muslim anywhere in the world.”
Iran was determined to expand its military power and ballistic missile programme despite pressure from hostile countries, state TV reported Rouhani as saying.
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