Click to see full-size image
On February 11th, Iranians took to the streets in celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
https://twitter.com/JZarif/status/1095002220402274304
Crowds gathered as Iranian President Hassan Rouhani gave his address to the nation at Tehran’s Azadi (Freedom) Square.
“In a message of appreciation for the epic and significant attendance of the great nation of Iran in the great celebration of the 40th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution, the President stated, “This significant and informed presence doubled the duty of the authorities of the country, including the government, to pursue efforts to serve the people and the country.”
“The presence of people today on the streets all over Islamic Iran … means that the enemy will never reach its evil objectives,” Rouhani said, adding that the country will continue to pursue its missile programme to defend the country from external threats.
“We have not asked, and will never ask for permission in developing our missile arsenal as we continue to pursue our path to military might.”
During the festivities, many of the demonstrators chanted “Death to America”, “Death to Israel” and “Death to the al-Saud” family of Saudi Arabia.
Iranian State News Agency, IRNA, spent the entire day reporting on various countries that celebrated with Iran.
Those included Russia:
https://twitter.com/IrnaEnglish/status/1095006491235495936
Lebanon, which said it will not partake in the upcoming Warsaw Conference, organized by the US and Poland and aimed against Iran.
https://twitter.com/IrnaEnglish/status/1095007010641215488
The Warsaw Summit was called “worthless” by Iran’s Chief of Staff of Armed Forces Major-General Mohammad-Hossein Baqeri.
Pakistan also observed the 40th anniversary:
https://twitter.com/IrnaEnglish/status/1095062211679174661
Spain also described Iran as “an important regional power”:
https://twitter.com/IrnaEnglish/status/1095210061528555520
An Iraqi official also said that Basra would never follow anti-Irani sanctions:
https://twitter.com/IrnaEnglish/status/1095210372318089222
As expected, the Trump administration used the occasion to attack Iran’s government and progress.
US President Donald Trump and US National Security Adviser John Bolton both strongly attacked the 40th anniversary, saying they have been nothing else than 40 years of failure.
https://twitter.com/AmbJohnBolton/status/1094969564549529606
https://twitter.com/AmbJohnBolton/status/1095011836628553728
Bolton also posted a video, addressed to the Iranian Ayatollah, saying he is to blame for “terrorizing your own people.”
https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1095060986787258368
The POTUS posted a banner, with the caption “40 years of corruption. 40 years of repression. 40 years of terror. The regime in Iran has produced only #40YearsofFailure. The long-suffering Iranian people deserve a much brighter future,” which was also translated in Arabic.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1095049352840658944
In answer, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif had the following response:
https://twitter.com/JZarif/status/1095077605135536128
Sharmine Narwani also reminded that John Bolton’s vows did not turn into reality:
https://twitter.com/snarwani/status/1095017831081668608
