PHOTO: Marchers with a large Iranian flag in Mashhad on Friday
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Iran’s regime has celebrated marches on the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution as a stand against the Trump Administration.
Addressing the crowd in Tehran’s Azadi Square, President Rouhani proclaimed:
This turnout is a response to false remarks of the new White House rulers and the people are telling the world through their presence that the Iranian people must be spoken to with respect and dignity.
The Iranian nation has shown during the past 38 years that it will make anyone who speaks to Iranians with the language of threats regret it….
The people take to the street to tell the world that the Iranian nation should be talked to with respect, abandoning the language of bullying and threats.
Rouhani cautioned that, both in the region and the US, inexperienced figures have taken charge. He advised them:
Now they have to speak with the language of respect and praise in front of the Iranian nation.
The nation will respond incisively in the face of threats….The one, who proceeds to threaten our nation and armed forces, should know that our nation is united and vigilant, and will stand up to ill-wishers.
Despite continued challenges to recovery after the July 2015 nuclear deal, Rouhani asserted, “Our economy is in its transitional phase from depression to prosperity and progress and the economic infrastructures are heading towards advancement and progress.”
He also defended the deal with the assurance, “Today our nuclear rights are recognised in the entire world and the products of our nuclear industry are being exported to the world.”
Iranian officials cautioned welcomed the surprise election of Donald Trump last November as the alternative to a possible hard line by Hillary Clinton, but tensions have risen with Washington. The Administration declared last week that Iran is “officially on notice” because of ballistic missile tests and Tehran’s support for groups in the Middle East such as Yemen’s Houthi movement.
Trump and his advisors are holding back from withdrawal from the nuclear deal; however, the Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on more Iranian individual and entities for links to the missile program and the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards. White House officials went farther this week by telling journalists that the Revolutionary Guards itself might be sanctioned.
“Iranians Will Foil All Threats”
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif echoed Rouhani’s firm line, “What has protected and strengthened this revolution has been [the] people’s presence, and today, the very same presence will foil all threats, too.” The head of judiciary, Sadegh Amoli Larijani, hailed a message to Iran’s enemies “that they cannot speak to this nation with the language of force and threats nor trample on [the Iranian people’s] rights….As the Supreme Leader has said, the enemy threats expressed with the language of threats will have no impact on our nation; we are more entrenched in the way [of the Revolution].”
The Supreme Leader’s military advisor, Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, added:
Foreign and transregional enemies, especially the triangle of American, Zionist, and British devils and their regional servants, cannot pose a serious military threat to us….The Iranian nation and the Islamic political system has grown powerful enough to defend Iran’s national interests and security and [to] return any kind of possible aggression with an unimaginable strike.
And the Supreme Leader’s top aide, Ali Akbar Velayati, dismissed any US economic pressure while sweeping away any initial welcome of Trump:
We’re not worried about the sanctions. By relying on the Resistance Economy put forth by the Supreme Leader [Ali Khamenei], we can overcome all difficulties…..
Mr. Trump is taking the same route and line that American presidents have taken against Iran since the victory of the Islamic Revolution. They have all taken the same negative approach.
Mixed Images
This year’s marches offered a mix of images. While some observers reported less anti-US symbols — pointing to a welcome of Americans, if not the Trump Administration — Iranian outlets featured pictures of US flags being burnt and demonstrators stepping upon US and Israeli flags painted on the route.
Photos: Fars, Mehr, Thomas Erdbrink
Report: Iranian Physician Jalali, Resident in Sweden, Sentenced to Death
Iranian physician Ahmadreza Jalali, a Swedish resident, has been sentenced to death, according to his wife.
Jalali was arrested in April 2016. Although charges have not yet been announced publicly, Jalili’s wife Vida Mehrannia maintains that they are political and include the charge of “collaborations with enemy countries”.
Jalali is an expert and researcher in the field of medical disaster management, publishing extensively. Colleagues say that his arrest may be linked to his communications with the international academic community, including Israeli scientists.
Mehrannia said that, following a transfer within Evin Prison on January 31, her husband had a meeting with Judge Abolghasem Salavati, who confirmed that a death sentence has been issued in his case. She added that Jalali refused Salavati’s request to end his hunger strike, begun on December 26.
Mehrania expressed hope that, in his forthcoming trip to Iran, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven could press for action in the case.
