Thousands of Iranians marked the 1979 storming of the US embassy in Tehran on Tuesday, with demonstrators displaying missile replicas and hanging effigies of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu from a tall crane. Just five months after a brief war with Israel, where the US joined strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, demonstrators chanted “Death to America, death to Israel!” and sang revolutionary songs.
This year’s annual event felt particularly charged amid escalating tensions.
Although commemorations occur annually, 15-year-old student Mohammad Hossein noted the country faced “a bit of pressure” from its two arch-foes this year. He stood next to a friend whose shoes featured the unmistakable swoosh of American apparel giant Nike. “We must be more visible this year,” he explained, “so that the authorities, the army, and others feel at ease, knowing that we stand completely behind them.”
Throughout the day, demonstrators burned and trampled US and Israeli flags, amplifying their political message. Participants dressed as Israeli soldiers then pretended to mourn over fake coffins draped with the Star of David, explicitly mocking the country’s losses in Gaza.
Meanwhile, the swinging effigies of Trump and Netanyahu evoked imagery of the public executions Iran sometimes carries out. Malek, a 57-year-old labourer who declined to give his full name, insisted, “America’s hostility toward us will never end.” He concluded simply, “America’s job is to deceive.”
Escalating Tensions Define This Year’s Rally
In mid-June, Israel launched an unprecedented wave of air strikes targeting military sites, nuclear facilities, and residential areas across Iran. These attacks killed dozens of senior officials and respected scientists.
Furthermore, over the 12-day war, Washington immediately joined its ally by striking three key nuclear sites. This occurred despite the US having engaged in ongoing diplomatic talks with Tehran regarding its atomic program.
Sareh Habibi, a 17-year-old student, emphasized, “Our feeling is much different this year because our country has suffered a serious attack.” She explained that after the martyrdom of their peers, teenagers and young people now feel a mission to attend the demonstration.
Symbols of Defiance
Specifically, along the parade route, officials displayed missile replicas similar to those fired at Israeli cities during the recent conflict. The weapons bore the provocative slogan, “We love to fight the Israeli regime.” Demonstrators also set out mock uranium centrifuges, nodding to Iran’s continued insistence on developing a civilian nuclear program.
Tehran maintains its denial of Western suspicions that it seeks to build a nuclear bomb. State media reported that similar commemorations occurred in several other major cities, including Mashhad in the northeast, Kerman in the south, and Rasht in the north.
The original event occurred on 4 November 1979, less than nine months after revolutionaries overthrew Iran’s monarchy. A group of students stormed the US embassy in Tehran, which they immediately deemed a “nest of spies.”
The students held several dozen American diplomats hostage, detaining some for a full 444 days, marking a major diplomatic break between previously allied Tehran and Washington. Consequently, the animosity has persisted for decades, leading Supreme Leader Khamenei to rule out any future cooperation with the United States on Monday.
He conditioned future talks on Washington changing its regional policy, specifically ending its unwavering support for Israel.
