{"id":582172,"date":"2026-02-11T12:05:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T12:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/582172\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T12:05:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T12:05:12","slug":"iran-marks-47th-anniversary-of-islamic-revolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/582172\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran marks 47th anniversary of Islamic Revolution"},"content":{"rendered":"

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) \u2014 Iran marked the 47th anniversary of its 1979 Islamic Revolution on Wednesday as the country\u2019s theocracy remains under pressure, both from U.S. President Donald Trump who suggested sending another aircraft carrier group to the Middle East and a public angrily denouncing Tehran\u2019s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The commemoration represented a spit-screen view of life in Iran, with state television showing hundreds of thousands of people across the country attending pro-government rallies, which included the burning of American flags and cries of \u201cDeath to America!\u201d The night before, as government-sponsored fireworks lit the dark sky, witnesses heard shouts from people\u2019s homes in the Iranian capital, Tehran, of \u201cDeath to the dictator!\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, President Masoud Pezeshkian got on stage at Azadi Square in Tehran and insisted that Iran is willing to negotiate over its nuclear program as fledgling nuclear talks<\/a> talks with America hang in the balance. <\/p>\n

Whether the talks succeed remains an open question \u2014 and Mideast nations fear their collapse could plunge the region into another regional war. A top Iranian security official traveled Qatar on Wednesday after earlier visiting Oman, which has mediated this latest round of negotiations. Just before the official\u2019s arrival, Qatar\u2019s ruling emir received a phone call from Trump.<\/p>\n

In his speech at the anniversary ceremony, Pezeshkian also insisted that his nation was \u201cnot seeking nuclear weapons. … and are ready for any kind of verification.\u201d However, the United Nations\u2019 nuclear watchdog \u2014 the International Atomic Energy Agency \u2014 has been unable for months to inspect and verify Iran\u2019s nuclear stockpile.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe high wall of mistrust that the United States and Europe have created through their past statements and actions does not allow these talks to reach a conclusion,\u201d Pezeshkian said. <\/p>\n

Yet moments later, he added: \u201cAt the same time, we are engaging with full determination in dialogue aimed at peace and stability in the region alongside our neighboring countries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Commemoration overshadowed by crackdown<\/p>\n

On Iranian state TV, authorities broadcast images of people taking to the streets across the country Wednesday to support the theocracy and its 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Others criticized Iran\u2019s exiled crown prince, Reza Pahlavi<\/a>, who had been calling for anti-government protests.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am here to say we don\u2019t stop supporting our leader and our country as the Americans and Israelis are increasingly threatening\u201d us, said Reza Jedi, a 43-year-old participant. <\/p>\n

Iranian missiles were on display, as were fragments that authorities described as being from downed Israeli drones. Fake coffins draped in the American flag could also be seen, one bearing the picture of U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of the American military\u2019s Central Command. <\/p>\n

Among Iran\u2019s 85 million people, there is a hard-line element of support for Iran\u2019s theocracy, including members of the country\u2019s powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which crucially put down the protests last month in a bloody suppression that killed thousands and saw tens of thousands detained, according to activists. <\/p>\n

Also, many Iranians often take part in pro-theocracy demonstrations as they are government employees or turn up to enjoy the carnival atmosphere of a government-sponsored holiday. Iran has 2.5 million government employees, with a fifth in Tehran alone.<\/p>\n

While not directly addressing the bloodshed by authorities, Pezeshkian acknowledged the crackdown that began in earnest on Jan. 8 had \u201ccaused great sorrow.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are ashamed before the people, and we are obligated to assist all those who were harmed in these incidents,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are not seeking confrontation with the people.\u201d <\/p>\n

One man sadly watched the commemoration from a sidewalk in Tehran, not taking part.<\/p>\n

\u201cI regularly participated in the rally in past years,\u201d said the man, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. \u201cBut how can I do that now as the streets\u2019 asphalt were bloodied last month?\u201d<\/p>\n

A senior Iran official visits Qatar<\/p>\n

As the commemoration took place, senior Iranian security official Ali Larijani left Oman for Qatar, a Mideast nation that hosts a major U.S. military installation and one that Iran attacked in June after the U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear sites<\/a> during the 12-day Iran-Israel war. <\/p>\n

Qatar has also been a key negotiator in the past with Iran, with which it shares a massive offshore natural gas field in the Persian Gulf. Its state-run Qatar News Agency reported that ruling emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani spoke with Trump about \u201cthe current situation in the region and international efforts aimed at de-escalation and strengthening regional security and peace,\u201d without elaborating. <\/p>\n

Speaking to the Russian state channel RT, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran still does \u201cnot have full trust for the Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLast time we negotiated, last June we were in the middle of negotiation then they decided to attack us and that was a very very bad experience for us,\u201d Iran\u2019s top diplomat said. \u201cWe need to make sure that that scenario is not repeated and this is mostly up to America.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite that concern, Araghchi said it could be possible \u201cto come to a better deal than Obama,\u201d referencing the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers Iran reached when former U.S. President Barack Obama was in office. Trump in his first term unilaterally withdrew America from the accord. <\/p>\n

Trump suggests sending another carrier to Mideast<\/p>\n

The U.S. has moved the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln<\/a>, ships and warplanes to the Middle East to pressure Iran into an agreement and have the firepower necessary to strike the Islamic Republic should Trump choose to do so. <\/p>\n

Already, U.S. forces have shot down a drone<\/a> they said got too close to the Lincoln and came to the aid of a U.S.-flagged ship that Iranian forces tried to stop in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf. <\/p>\n

Trump told the news website Axios that he was considering sending a second carrier to the region, noting, \u201cWe have an armada that is heading there and another one might be going.\u201d <\/p>\n

It remains unclear what carrier could go. The USS George H.W. Bush has left Norfolk, Virginia, according to U.S. Navy Institute News. The USS Gerald R. Ford remains in the Caribbean after the U.S. military raid that captured Venezuelan leader Nicol\u00e1s Maduro. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) \u2014 Iran marked the 47th anniversary of its 1979 Islamic Revolution on Wednesday…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":582173,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5],"tags":[97,3489,66557,3492,3495,3881,11744,13229,64,69,10102,57,196126,155993,83,3461,556,14241,3097,50,92550,80,402,6673,367,11224,235115,119703,2053,226624,93,103,107],"class_list":["post-582172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","tag-2024-2025-mideast-wars","tag-abbas-araghchi","tag-abraham-lincoln","tag-ali-khamenei","tag-ali-larijani","tag-ap-top-news","tag-barack-obama","tag-brad-cooper","tag-business","tag-donald-trump","tag-energy-industry","tag-general-news","tag-george-h-w-bush","tag-gerald-ford","tag-iran","tag-iran-government","tag-islam","tag-masoud-pezeshkian","tag-middle-east","tag-news","tag-nicolas-maduro","tag-politics","tag-protests-and-demonstrations","tag-qatar","tag-religion-and-politics","tag-reza-pahlavi","tag-send-to-apple-news","tag-tamim-bin-hamad-al-thani","tag-tehran","tag-u-s-venezuela-conflict","tag-washington-news","tag-world","tag-world-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=582172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/582172\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/582173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=582172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=582172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=582172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}