LATEST: Video — Footage of Veteran Iranian Revolutionary Guards Commander Before His Death in Iraq

Iran’s regime marked the 6th anniversary of large rallies, countering the mass protests after the disputed 2009 Presidential election, and claimed “victory” over “sedition” on Tuesday.

It is not clear, however, if many Iranians paid attention.

On December 30, 2009, the regime organized a show of widespread support, three days after protests on the religious day of Ashura had pushed back security forces in Tehran. In the following months, the combination of repression, widespread detentions, and regime rallies would finally suppress the Green Movement that had demanded rights and reformed after the supposed victory of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June 2009.

Iranian media opened Tuesday with proclamations that people throughout the country were marking the anniversary of the “epic” marches. However, photographs were either file images of the 2009 rally or close-up shots of a few hundred marchers on Tuesday.

The speeches also did not match the “epic” headlines, as senior regime officials preferred to concentrate on the Iranian PR offensive in Iraq. A senior advisor to the head of the Revolutionary Guards said the 2009 protests were masterminded by the US and organized by the British Embassy — now closed after it was attacked by a crowd in 2011 — and Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani told legislators that 9 Dey was a “manifestation of the power of God”.

Video: Footage of Veteran Iranian Revolutionary Guards Commander Before His Death in Iraq

A 7-minute compilation of footage of Hamid Taghavi, a veteran Revolutionary Guards commander, operating in Iraq:

Taghavi was killed last week near Samarra, about 110 km (70 miles) north of Baghdad, and was given a hero’s funeral last weekend.

See Iran Daily, Dec 29: Tehran Uses A Slain Commander to Proclaim That It is Saving Iraq

Iran has proclaimed that the defense of Samarra, with its two Shia shrines, is essential in the fight against the Islamic State and that its commanders are playing an important “advisory” role for Baghdad.

Foreign Ministry Denounces New US Sanctions

The Foreign Ministry has criticized the addition of nine entities and individuals to the US Treasury’s sanctions blacklist.

“We strongly deplore the new US measure to impose sanctions on certain individuals and companies, and consider it as a violation of US commitments under the Geneva interim deal [of November 2013],” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said on Wednesday. “Such a move is a clear violation of the principle of goodwill.”

The Treasury added two technical firms, a United Arab Emirates-based trading company, and six citizens from Iran, Afghanistan, and Saint Kitts and Nevis to the blacklist, claiming that they were helping Iran evade restrictions imposed over its nuclear program.