Iranians took to the streets in very large numbers to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.
The rallies started in more than 1,000 cities and 10,000 villages across the country. The winter cold, rainfalls, and snowfalls could not deter people from participating in the rallies.
The marches started with the slogan of “Proud of the Past and Hope on the future”.
This year’s rallies are proving a milestone as the revolution has entered its 40th birthday and certain extremists such as John Bolton, the national security advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump, had claimed that the Islamic Revolution would not see its 40th anniversary.
The rallies are also a show of strength and firmness that the Iranians will not give in under illegal and tough economic sanctions introduced against the country by the Trump administration in violation of the international 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
People from all walks of life are participating in the rallies. They wave the national flag to show their love to the country despite economic hardship created by the sanctions.
The Trump administration, encouraged by its regional allies including Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, ordered sanctions against Iran in May 2018 with the aim of inciting public protests inside the country. However, as the massive rallies are showing the pressures are backfiring against the United States.
In a speech to the Air Force officers on Friday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said “Death to the U.S.” is not a slogan against the American nation. Instead, the Leader insisted, it is a slogan against Trump, Bolton, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Trump, Bolton, and Pompeo are not seeing any limits for their animosity against Iran. They use any opportunity to show their disgust of Iran. Trump and his close team’s hatred of Iran have shocked the entire world.
Rouhani: Enemy will not achieve its evil goals
Addressing people in Azadi Square (Freedom Square) in Tehran, President Hassan Rouhani said the huge turnout in rallies “means that the enemies will not achieve its evil goals” and that the revolution will “continue its path like the past 40 years”.
In a reference to the illegal sanctions and pressures against Iran, Rouhani said the participation of people in marches, including in the megacity of Tehran, indicates that the “one-year plots of the enemy (against Iran) have ended in failure.”
Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh, who participated in the rallies, said, “We are a resistant nation and will emerge victorious in the sanctions as we emerged victor in the imposed war.”
The imposed war refers to Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Iran in the 1980s.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
