Page 42 - bne_March2019_20190306 magazine

42 I Eurasia bne March 2019
Crowds celebrating 40th year of Islamic Revolution roll out greatest hits. But Khamenei offers Trump ‘footnote’
bne IntelliNews
They chanted “Death to America” (although according to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei this should now be interpreted as “Death to Trump” and US leaders) and “Death to Israel” and burned the Stars and Stripes – the hundreds of thousands of Iranians who turned out for the nationwide rallies on February 11 to mark the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution essentially went through all their greatest hits.
It was on February 11, 1979, that Iran’s army declared its neutrality. The seminal moment burst the dam on the
US-backed Shah and paved the way to the triumph of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Shi’ite cleric who led the revolution. The US thus lost its closest ally in the Middle East and gained an enemy.
Iranian state TV showed big, chanting crowds, marching through freezing rain in Tehran with those present including many women carrying small children,
along with soldiers, students and clerics. The crowds waved Iranian flags and bore banners. One read: “Much to the dismay of America, the revolution has reached its 40th year.” President Hassan Rouhani did not mince his words in addressing the assembled, calling Donald Trump an "idiot". The Times reported that the crowds also chanted “Death to Theresa May”.
“Much to the dismay of America, the revolution has reached its 40th year”
President Rouhani making his address during the 40th anniversary rally in Tehran.
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