Tens of thousands of Iranians took to the streets on Friday to mark the ‘National Day of Fighting Global Arrogance’.
Speaking at a rally on 4 November to mark the anniversary of the 1979 takeover of the US embassy in Tehran, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi took aim at comments made by his US counterpart, Joe Biden, who on Thursday vowed to “free Iran.”
“I was informed a few hours ago that the President of the United States has uttered some words meant to distract, he said [the US] are aiming to free Iran,” Raisi told supporters on Friday, before reminding the embattled US leader that “Iran was freed 43 years ago and is determined not to be occupied by you.”
“We will never be your dairy cow,” the Iranian president fired back against Biden’s interventionist threats.
“The United States, which supports ISIS and other terrorist groups, shows itself as a protector of human rights,” Raisi added, before noting that the Islamic Republic has witnessed what Washington has done in Afghanistan and Syria “in the name of freedom.”
“The Iranian people will not be captive as they were in the time of the Shah, and will remain steadfast in the face of [the enemy’s plots].”
Tens of thousands of Iranians took to the streets on Friday to commemorate the US embassy takeover and the official “National Day of Fighting Global Arrogance.”
Friday’s pro-government demonstrations stood in stark contrast to the wave of street protests and violent riots that have gripped Iran since mid-September — sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini — and which authorities claim are being fueled by foreign powers in a bid to destabilize the country.
The protests have left many dead and injured, and thousands more have been detained. While Tehran has failed to make public an updated number of casualties, US-based HRANA news agency claims that as many as 300 protesters have been killed and over 14,000 have been arrested.
HRANA is the media arm of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRAI) group, which receives funding from the US National Endowment for Democracy (NED) — a CIA soft power front that has for decades funded regime-change efforts across the globe.
“A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA,” former NED president Allen Weinstein said in 1991.
On 31 October, Tehran charged over 1,000 people in connection with the violent demonstrations and riots, four of whom could reportedly face the death penalty.