Off the wire
• China makes it easier for disabled people to drive  • 200,000 visits to Sun Yat-sen's mausoleum during new year holiday  • Urgent: DPRK expels all South Koreans in Kaesong Industrial Zone  • 1st LD: DPRK to shut down Kaesong complex, cut off communications with S. Korea: Yonhap  • Urgent: DPRK to shut down Kaesong complex, cut off communication with S. Korea: Yonhap  • Iran marks anniversary of Islamic revolution  • Former choking city breathes clean air in more days  • S. Korea's opposition lawmakers condemn shutdown of inter-Korean factory park  • Rio Tinto scraps progressive dividend, reports 51 pct loss  • 5 Afghan police killed in suspected insider attack  
You are here: 　 Home

Update: Iran marks anniversary of Islamic revolution

Xinhua, February 11, 2016 Adjust font size:

Hundreds of thousands of Iranians celebrated nationwide the 37th anniversary of the victory of Islamic revolution on Thursday.

People in the Iranian cities swarmed to the streets carrying images of the late founder of the Islamic republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and his successor, incumbent leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In the capital Tehran, people carried flags and banners in support of the Islamic establishment and chanted anti-U.S., anti-Israeli and pro-Palestinian slogans.

The 1979 revolution toppled the U.S.-backed regime of Shah and brought the country under the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini, an event seen as a turning point in Iran's history.

On Wednesday, President Hassan Rouhani urged Iranians to mark the anniversary "gloriously and massively" this year to show solidarity and unity of the nation in the face of perils.

"We must participate in the ceremonies with higher spirit," Rouhani was quoted as saying by state IRIB TV. "The unanimous participation of people means national unity, and would solidify our security."

In Tehran's Azadi, or Liberty, Street, people pose for pictures with a sample of Iran's home-grown Emad ballistic missile.

A resolution, read at the square marking the anniversary, said Iran will continue its missile program "determinedly," warning against the "enemies which seek to threaten or weaken" Tehran.

Defense Minister Hossein Dehqan said Iran plans to build an upgraded version of the Emad long-range missiles, Tasnim news agency reported on Wednesday.

"A new model of the (Emad) ballistic missile will be designed and produced in the future with higher precision in hitting targets," he said, adding that Iran also intends to mass produce the first generation of Emad missile.

In October, Iran announced it "successfully" test-fired the country's first long-range missile, Emad, which could be guided and controlled until hitting the target with high precision.

In December, a United Nations experts' report said Iran violated UN Security Council Resolution 1929 by test-firing the Emad capable of delivering a nuclear warhead.

The UN report said the Emad ballistic missile has a range of "no less than 1,000 km with a payload of at least 1,000 kg."

Under Resolution 1929, Iran is prohibited from working on ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads.

However, Dehqan rejected the report, saying the Emad missile is "totally conventional." Endit