Iranians mark anniversary of 1979 takeover

TEHRAN, Iran — Thousands of Iranians gathered on Tehran streets Thursday for the anniversary of the 1979 seizure of the U.S. Embassy, chanting “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” and burning American and Israeli flags. The embassy takeover triggered a 444-day hostage crisis and break in diplomatic relations that continues to this day.

The government-organized commemoration, long a venue for voicing anti-western sentiment, typically draws angry crowds each year. Last year, authorities canceled the event because of the still-raging coronavirus pandemic, but on Thursday, state TV said that 800 cities across Iran staged demonstrations.

Protesters hoisted an effigy of President Joe Biden wearing a

T-shirt emblazoned with the Star of David, drops of red paint dripping from its mouth. It wasn’t clear whether the demonstrators were trying to make a point or were simply recycling old props from their 2019 parade, but the figure’s mop of orange hair resembled that of the effigy of former President Donald Trump used at the rally two years ago.

In a speech to the crowds, Gen. Hossein Salami, chief of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, denounced the United States as a “dictator-making factory” and took aim at what he called American aggression in the region, declaring that “children of this nation (Iran) will stand bravely against any power that wants to damage their interests.”

Tensions between the U.S. and

Iran have flared in recent months after Iran’s election of conservative President Ebrahim Raisi, which brought hard-liners to power and stalled Tehran’s talks with world powers to revive its 2015 nuclear deal.

Iran has enriched small quantities of uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels.