Amid tensions with U.S., Iran warns White House and lauds Americans opposing Trump
Amid tensions with U.S., Iran warns White House and lauds Americans opposing Trump:- Hundreds of thousands of Iranians held rallies around the country Friday to mark the anniversary of the Islamic revolution as the main march in Tehran added a new twist: displaying placards praising Americans who protested President Trump’s travel ban.
The annual rallies traditionally feature anti-U. S. chants and burning American flags. But this year’s gathering paid notice to the deep U.S. political divides over Trump’s executive order to block entry from seven Muslim-majority countries including Iran.
Friday's marches included signs championing the Americans who protested Trump's plan, which is now suspended by U.S. federal judges.
“Americans are welcome and invited to visit Iran,” another sign at the rallies read. Many of the signs at such gatherings in Iran are printed and distributed by pro-government groups and the messages are pre-approved by authorities.
Addressing crowds in Tehran, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the demonstrations were a message to the White House that Iran will not bow to any threats.
The marchers “are telling the world” to “speak to the Iranian nation with respect,” Rouhani said, according to the semiofficial Fars News Agency. Anyone confronting Iran will “regret” their aggressive policies, said Rouhani, a moderate who was elected president in 2013 and who supported the 2015 nuclear deal with the United States and five other world powers.
“Americans are welcome and invited to visit Iran,” another sign at the rallies read. Many of the signs at such gatherings in Iran are printed and distributed by pro-government groups and the messages are pre-approved by authorities.
Addressing crowds in Tehran, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the demonstrations were a message to the White House that Iran will not bow to any threats.
The marchers “are telling the world” to “speak to the Iranian nation with respect,” Rouhani said, according to the semiofficial Fars News Agency. Anyone confronting Iran will “regret” their aggressive policies, said Rouhani, a moderate who was elected president in 2013 and who supported the 2015 nuclear deal with the United States and five other world powers.
The designation would have far-reaching implications and could result in retaliation against U.S. troops fighting the Islamic State in Iraq, where the Revolutionary Guard also support Shiite militias battling the extremists.
Iranian officials have called the U.S. moves “provocative” and Khamenei urged Iranians to “show their stance against such threats” by turning out to celebrate the anniversary of the revolution Friday.
Images broadcast on Iran's state television showed throngs of people holding signs and marching in the streets of central Tehran.
High-profile figures like Revolutionary Guard commander Qassem Soleimani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, were also at the demonstrations, according to photographs published by Iranian news agencies. Elsewhere, demonstrators trampled on printed American flags and photos of former U.S. presidents, the Associated Press reported.
The current friction between the United States and Iran is in contrast to the easing of tensions that took place under the Obama administration, which concluded a nuclear deal with Iran and maintained an open channel of communication with its government.
The multilateral deal aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear development lifted some of the international sanctions that had also halted economic growth.
The U.N. Security Council Resolution that endorsed the 2015 deal called on Iran to refrain from testing ballistic missiles that could carry nuclear warheads. Late last month, Iran tested a missile that the United States says defied the resolution. Then, a week ago, the Revolutionary Guard carried out extensive military exercises in the desert, calling the maneuvers a response to the new sanctions.
The new administration's plans for Iran are still unclear, said Gary Sick, who served on the National Security Council under Presidents Ford, Carter, and Reagan. He is now a senior research scholar at Columbia University's Middle East Institute.
But “they're hitting quite strongly, and prepared to go much further,” said Sick, who was also the principal White House aide for Iran during the revolution.
“I don't think we can predict how Iran will respond to it,” he said. “Other than that they won't be intimidated by it. They're not going to do that.”
Source:- https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/iran-celebrates-revolution-anniversary-amid-conflict-with-the-us/2017/02/10/71499b8a-ee11-11e6-a100-fdaaf400369a_story.html?utm_term=.e72c928d7684
