Iranians mark 1979 takeover of 'Den of Espionage

Forty-two years ago on November 4, Iranian students took over the American embassy in Tehran, also known in Iran as the “Den of Espionage”.

ID: 71893 | Date: 2021/11/04
Iranians of all walks of life have begun staging rallies across the country to mark the National Day of the Fight against Global Arrogance, shouting slogans against the US and Israeli regimes over their inhumane, hegemonic actions.


Forty-two years ago on November 4, Iranian students took over the American embassy in Tehran, also known in Iran as the “Den of Espionage,” less than a year after the Islamic Revolution toppled the US-backed Pahlavi dictatorship in 1979.


The occasion was then named the National Day of the Fight against Global Arrogance. November 4 also marks National Student Day.


Each year, Iranians commemorate the National Day of the Fight against Global Arrogance by staging rallies across the country. Last year’s events were canceled due to an increase in COVID-19 infections, this year’s events are being held across the nation while people observe health protocols.


Rallies kicked off in the capital, Tehran, and some 800 cities and towns across the country on Thursday morning.


Every year, demonstrators in Tehran gather outside the former headquarters of the US embassy, chanting “Down with the US” and “Down with Israel,” Washington’s closest ally, to show their anger with the actions of what is known in Iran as “Global Arrogance.”


In a statement, the Iranian Army said Aban 13 (November 4) is reminiscent of three major events in Iran’s contemporary history.


It explained that on November 4, 1964, Imam Khomeini, who founded the Islamic Revolution in 1979, was sent to Turkey, where he began a life of more than 14 years in exile “due to the Pahlavi regime’s inability against the Imam’s determination.”


The Army then referred to the massacre of dozens of pupils during a protest on November 4, 1978 by the Shah regime’s forces as the day that “watered the seedling of the Revolution,” while describing November 4, 1979 as the day students foiled the enemy’s conspiracy by taking over the US embassy in Tehran. 


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