By Parisa Hafezi
ANKARA
(Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of Iranians rallied on Friday to
swear allegiance to the clerical establishment following U.S. President
Donald Trump's warning that he had put the Islamic Republic "on notice",
state TV reported.
On
the anniversary of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, which toppled the
U.S.-backed shah, marchers including hundreds of military personnel and
policemen headed towards Tehran's Azadi (Freedom) Square.
They
carried "Death to America" banners and effigies of Trump, while a
military police band played traditional Iranian revolutionary songs.
State
TV showed footage of people stepping on Trump's picture in a central
Tehran street. Marchers carried the Iranian flag and banners saying:
"Thanks Mr. Trump for showing the real face of America."
"America
and Trump cannot do a damn thing. We are ready to sacrifice our lives
for our leader", a young Iranian man told state TV in a reference to
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Last
week, Trump put Iran "on notice" in reaction to a Jan. 29 Iranian
missile test and imposed fresh sanctions on individuals and entities.
Iran said it will not halt its missile program.
Iranian
leading religious and political figures, including Pragmatist President
Hassan Rouhani had called on Iranians to join the rally on Friday to
"show their unbreakable ties with the Supreme Leader and the Islamic
Republic".
VIGILANT
In
a speech marking the revolution's anniversary, Rouhani urged Iran's
faction-ridden elite to seek unity amid increased tensions with the
United States.
"Some
inexperienced figures in the region and America are threatening Iran
... They should know that the language of threats has never worked with
Iran," Rouhani told the crowd at Azadi Square.
"Our
nation is vigilant and will make those threatening Iran regret it ...
They should learn to respect Iran and Iranians ... We will strongly
confront any war-mongering policies."
The
rallies were rife with anti-U.S. and anti-Israeli sentiment. Some
carried pictures of Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and
British Prime Minister Theresa May captioned "Death to the Devil
Triangle".
"This
turnout of people is a strong response to false remarks by the new
leaders of America," Rouhani told state TV, which said millions had
turned out at rallies across Iran.
U.S.
flags were burned as is traditional although many Iranians on social
media such as Twitter and Facebook used the hashtag #LoveBeyondFlags to
urge an end to flag-burning during the anniversary.
They
also thanked Americans for opposing Trump's executive order banning
entry to the United States to travellers from seven mainly Muslim
countries, including Iran. Trump's travel ban is being challenged in
U.S. courts.
Some marchers carried banners that read : "Thanks to American people for supporting Muslims".
Both
U.S.-based social media sites are blocked in Iran by a wide-reaching
government censor but they are still commonly used by millions of
Iranians who use special software to get around the restrictions.
Iranian officials, including Khamenei, have Twitter and Facebook
accounts despite the ban.
Trump
has criticized a nuclear deal reached between Iran, the United States
and other major powers in 2015 aimed at curbing the country's nuclear
work. Most of the sanctions imposed on Iran were lifted last year under
the deal.
Rouhani
defended the deal, which his hardline rivals oppose as a concession to
pressure from Washington, saying it protected the Islamic Republic’s
rights to nuclear power, ending Iran's political isolation and crippling
economic sanctions.
(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; editing by Ralph Boulton; Editing by Catherine Evans)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/hundreds-thousands-rally-iran-against-trump-chant-death-081038000.html
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