Iranians mark 28th anniversary of seizure of U.S. embassy

Thousands of young Iranians gathered outside the site of the former U.S. embassy in Tehran on Sunday to celebrate the 28th anniversary of its takeover by student radicals, Agence France-Presse reported the same day.

Those gathered shouted slogans such as “Death to America! Death to Israel!” and wore bibs depicting the burning of American and Israeli flags.

“By being here I am doing my religious duty, and by being here I am saying I hate the bullying powers, especially the United States and Israel,” 18-year-old seminary student Esmaeel Mohammadi said.

In a keynote address, Interior Minister Mostafa Pour Mohammadi called the seizure “a great and glorious event” that continues to inspire the Iranian people.

The seizure, which occurred on November 4, 1979, caused the United States to break off diplomatic ties with Iran. Many of the leading participants in the seizure such as Massoumeh Ebtekar, Abbas Abdi, and Mohsen Mirdamadi have become reformists highly critical of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s conservative government.

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