Iran marks 1979 U.S. embassy takeover, displays missile

CAIRO – 5 November 2017: Thousands of Iranians gathered to celebrate the 38th anniversary of the U.S. embassy takeover, on Saturday, at the site of the former embassy in Tehran.

A ballistic missile with a range of 1,240 miles was displayed at the site during the demonstration, according to Tasnim news agency.

Demonstrators burnt an American flag and an effigy of U.S. President Donald Trump, marking the day when dozens of Iranian students stormed the U.S. embassy in 1979 and took 52 Americans as hostages for 444 days.

Tensions between the U.S. and Iran rose last October over Iran’s ballistic missile program that the U.S. considers a violation of international law.

On October 8, Mohammad Ali Jafari, head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) warned the U.S. of a possible missile attack if it imposes more sanctions on Iran (for its program). On October 26, the U.S. House of Representatives passed new sanctions on Iran.

In a televised speech on Thursday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced the U.S. as "Iran’s number one enemy."