Iran marks 39th anniversary of Islamic Revolution after protests

TEHRAN, IRAN x Hundreds of thou-sands of Iranians rallied on the streets Sunday to mark the 39th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, just weeks after anti-government protests rocked cities across the country.

Demonstrators burned American and Israeli flags, as well as images of President Donald Trump, whose re-fusal to re-certify the nuclear deal with world powers has riled Irani-ans. A few burned a white sheet read-ing "BARJAM" the Farsi acronym for the 2015 nuclear accord that Tehran signed with world powers.

Such activities commonly mark the anniversary, which commemorates the overthrow of U.S.-backed Iranian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. That began a period of hostilities between Iran and the West, including an attack on the US. Embaccy in Tehran and the subsequent hostage crisis.

However, President Hassan Rou-hani made a point to call for unity among Iran's people across its politi-cal spectrum.