Thousands of Iranians came together on Wednesday to burn U.S. flags and effigies of President Barack Obama in celebration of the 36-year anniversary of the seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran.
Anniversary of U.S embassy being seized 36 years ago large anti American/Israeli/British and Saudi crowds gather. pic.twitter.com/g6tYbKE8MQ
— Ali Arouzi (@aliarouzi) November 4, 2015
The outpouring of anti-U.S. sentiment came despite a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and major powers including the U.S. in July, as well as Iran's unexpected attendance at a meeting in Geneva last week aimed at finding a solution to end the ongoing conflict in Syria, according to The Detroit News.
The annual state-organized rally drew greater attention this year as Iranian hard-liners seek to counter moderate President Hassan Rouhani's outreach to the West. Many fear his efforts will pave the way for the U.S. to dismantle the Islamic republic following the 1979 revolution.
On Nov. 4, 1979, militant students stormed the U.S. Embassy and took 52 Americans hostage after the U.S. declined to hand over the ousted U.S.-backed shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, for trial in Iran. The situation devolved into a 444-day hostage crisis and a deterioration in U.S.-Iranian diplomatic relations that persists to this day, according to AFP.
Prosecutor General Ebrahim Raisi delivered an impassioned speech listing US "atrocities," including slavery, the treatment of Native Americans, phone tapping and "the killing of 300,000 Iraqis."
"A day will come when they will have to answer in court for their atrocities," he said.
Protestors also held placards with slogans including "Down with U.S.A." and "Down with Israel" - a day after Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei explained the "Death to America" and other related chants were aimed at U.S. policies, and not its people, according to NBC News.
Khamenei was in favor of the July 14 nuclear deal but has repeatedly warned against U.S. "infiltration" of the values of Iranian society.
