Roundup: Iranians celebrate 1979 revolution anniversary with anti-U.S. sentiments

Amidst rising fresh tensions between the Islamic republic and the United States, hundreds of thousands of Iranians attended nationwide rallies on Friday to celebrate the 38th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic revolution in 1979.

People in the Iranian cities swarmed to the streets carrying flags and banners in support of the Islamic establishment leaders and chanted anti-U.S., and anti-Israeli slogans.

The rallies in capital Tehran turned into a demonstration against the recent U.S. sanctions on Iran over its ballistic missile program, and against new U.S. administration's travel ban on seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran.

They also chanted slogans against some regional allies of the United States, including Saudi Arabia.

Addressing the large gathering in Tehran's Azadi (liberty) square, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said that the nationwide rallies to celebrate the 38th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic revolution are a reaction to the recent threats of the U.S. officials against Iran.

The Friday rallies are an embodiment of "national power" and show that "the Iranian people will make regretful those who use the language of threat against the Iranians," Rouhani's words followed by the heat of applause from the people.

"This mass turnout is a response to the incorrect claims of the new U.S. officials," he said, adding that "people have flocked to the streets on Friday to show to the world that (Iran's) revolution is alive and its leadership is not alone."

Last Friday, the United States announced sanctions on multiple entities and individuals allegedly involved in Iran's ballistic missile program and providing support to the military in Iran.

The move came days after Iran launched a ballistic missile test, which drew a stern warning from Washington.

In reaction, Iranian officials unanimously described the missile test as an "inalienable right" of the country to boost its deterrent power. Tehran has vowed to counter the fresh U.S. sanctions.

The Iranian president also dismissed what he called the U.S. "treason" against Iran by confiscating Iran's money in the U.S. banks, and said that the Islamic republic has filed a complaint in the international court against the United States in this regard.

In May, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the transfer of nearly two billion U.S. dollars to the American victims of terrorist attacks, including the 1983 truck bombing of a Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. Investigators of the court concluded that Iran was responsible for that attack, which Iran has denied.

On Friday, Rouhani also hailed the achievements of 2015 nuclear deal for Iran, saying that it enabled the country to establish its nuclear rights internationally.

Under the deal, Iran has been able to boost its research activities on the advanced centrifuges and to upgrade the first generation IR-1 centrifuges to IR-8 ones.

Last month, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) announced that it had started injecting uranium hexafluoride (UF6) into advanced domestically-manufactured IR-8 centrifuges.

U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized the deal, as a pact of "disaster" or "the worst deal ever negotiated" and has vowed to renegotiate the accord.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has shrugged off what he called the U.S. "threats" against the Islamic republic.

On Wednesday, Khamenei and Rouhani called for mass turnout in the rallies to condemn the U.S. recent threats against the Islamic republic.

Rouhani said people's "massive" attendance in the anniversary of the Islamic revolution would show solidarity and unity of the nation with the revolution and the leadership.

"In the rallies, people will demonstrate that their glory, independence and national sovereignty are bound to the Islamic revolution," said Rouhani, adding that the active participation of people is of particular importance given the current global and regional situation.

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