Iran witnessed state-organized marches across the country today, Saturday, marking the anniversary of the seizure of the American embassy in 1979. The demonstrations were accompanied by chants such as "Death to America" and "Death to Israel," expressing support for Palestinians facing Israeli bombardment in Gaza. Revolutionary Iranian students, motivated by religious fervor, stormed the embassy shortly after the fall of the US-backed Shah 44 years ago and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days.
In Tehran, demonstrators marched today from Palestine Square in the heart of the capital to the former American embassy a few kilometers away. State television broadcast footage of protesters burning the Israeli flag and holding images of Palestinian children killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.
The Israeli army has been bombing Gaza from the air, enforcing a blockade and launching a ground assault after the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), which governs Gaza, killed 1,400 people and captured over 240 others in an attack on October 7 in southern Israel. Health officials in Gaza report that over 9,250 Palestinians have been killed, and medical services are collapsing. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected calls to cease fighting unless the hostages held by Hamas are released.
