Revolution Day 2015 In Iran: A Regime-Organized Display Of Hatred For U.S., Obama

On February 11, 2015, the Iranian regime marked the Islamic Revolution's 36th anniversary. Regime spokesmen, and first and foremost Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, emphasized in processions and speeches the anti-American character of Revolution Day, the Iranian regime's hatred for the United States and its yearning for America's downfall. Regime spokesmen motivated the public to participate in processions in which the regime's top leaders, including the heads of the pragmatic camp took part.[1]

With nuclear negotiations between the U.S. and Iran in an attempt to reach an agreement soon in the background, the displays of hatred towards President Obama, depicted as hanging from a gallows, and towards Secretary of State Kerry, who was shown as a devious fox were prominent.

This report presents some of the statements by senior regime officials on the occasion of Revolution Day, as well as photos from the processions and rallies held to mark the occasion.

Khamenei Facebook's Page Calls On Public To Participate In Rally As A "Decisive Answer" To U.S.

The following poster appeared in Khamenei's Facebook page on Feb 10, 2015.

Image: Facebook.com/www.Khamenei.ir

Basij Commander: "The Iranian People Calls In Unison 'Death To America' And 'Death To Israel'"

In a February 11, 2015 address in Kermanshah, Basij commander Mohammad Reza Naqdi said: "The Iranian nation said 'death to [Shapour] Bakhtiar,'[the last prime minister of the Shah's era],and Bakhtiar joined the trash heap of history. It said 'death to Saddam,' and he received the same humiliating fate, as you saw. The nation said 'death to the Soviet Union,' and today there is nothing left of it. The nation is still saying 'death to the hypocrites' [referring to the opposition organization Mujahadeen-e Khalq], and today their fate is worse than death. The Iranian people's determination ousted a 2500-year-old monarchical regime. The Iranian people calls in unison the slogans 'death to America' and 'death to Israel'. America and Israel will end up like the rest. The Iranian nation's unity will cause the elimination of these arrogant [countries].

"The 5+1 coalition [the U.S., Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany - who are conducting nuclear negotiations with Iran] is a coalition against humanity and against Islam. The enemies always fear Islam and the progress of the Iranian nation, but do not [openly] say so. Iran's significant regional and global role has put an end to their exclusive hegemony. The 5+1 group is striving to strip the Iranian nation of its independence. The Iranian nation did not submit even when America supported the SAVAK [the shah's secret police] and its savage methodsHad our nation submitted, Israel would have had the ability to fight all the countries in the region, unlike its situation today, when it is like a feeble mouse facing the Palestinian and Lebanese resistance fighters.

"The [Iranian] people know that the other side in the negotiations is striving to sign an agreement and freeze Iran's nuclear program, and even in this situation the sanctions will not be lifted.The enemies will persist with their sanctions, while the Iranian nation will continue its progress via unity. Our main slogan is 'nuclear energy is our inalienable right'. The wise instructions of the Leader,Khamenei, are always groundbreaking in managing the country, even under the most difficult circumstances. The enemies must realize that sanctions and pressures will not withstand the Iranian people's determination..."[2]

Defense Minister Deghan: We Expect America To Die Of Fury

At a February 15, 2015 conference of senior Basij officials, Defense Minister Hossein Deghan said: "The nation's participation in the February 11 processions was a crushing response to the enemies and the regime opponents. The nation demonstrated by these processions that it always appears on the scene when it comes to the regime's national objectives and the values of the Imam [Khomeini] and the leader [Khamenei] Today we see signs of the Islamic Revolution [emerging] in Islamic states The ideas of the revolution and the Basij are spoken of the world over, [and are] like a rolling advancing wave. This fills the arrogance [i.e., the West headed by the U.S.] with anger and rage, and we expect them to die of this rage."[3]

Ahmad Khatami: The Iranian People's Hatred For America Grows From Year To Year

In the February 13, 2015 Friday sermon in Tehran, Assembly of Experts member Ahmad Khatami said: "In this year's processions two new slogans were seen: 'no to sanctions and no to humiliation, [yes to] dignified negotiations,' and '[our] response to all the [American] options on the table is: death to America that opposes Islam.' So the Iranian people's hatred for America grows from year to yearThe Americans fled in disgrace from every place they entered. America entered Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen but what did it achieve? It entered the Ukraine but achieved nothing but popular hatred. It is America that is stuck and whose hands are tied. In August 2014, when they imposed new sanctions, they said that Iran would surrender, but as we saw a month later on Jerusalem Day, the people [only] shouted 'death to America.'"[4]

'Kayhan': "America Lost On The Afghani, Iraqi, Syrian, Lebanese, Bahraini And Yemeni Fronts"

The daily Kayhan,a regime mouthpiece, wrote on February 15, 2015: "As part of the New Middle East project, the 'great Satan'[the U.S.] planned to impose a security siege upon Iran, and the 'little Satan,' Israel, was supposed to eliminate Iran's allies in Gaza and Lebanon - but Iran foiled their plan. America paid a tremendous economic price for its debacles in the region, and also sustained significant political and geopolitical damage. In contrast, Iran expanded its influence in Afghanistan and Iraq, and in Iraq its ally [Al-Maliki] rose to power.

"Obama's victory in the 2008 elections induced many of the world's countries to display passivity towards [the U.S.] - but not Iran. Its divine leader Imam Khamenei announced that beneath the hand outstretched in friendship there lurked an iron glove. Rendering the American sword passive in such a way that it would consistently lose its force...was a major action that Iran carried out against the U.S. via its powerful arms [proxies] in the region.

"Imam Khamenei promoted Khomeini's enterprise under the heading 'Basij of the Oppressed" precisely when America sank into drunkeness. Powerful Iran did not display passivity in confronting challenges such as the nuclear challenge that erupted in 2003 but chose the option of the preemptive strike and the symmetrical and asymmetrical strike.

"Today any observer acknowledges that America lost on the Afghani, Iraqi, Syrian, Lebanese, Bahraini and Yemeni fronts These various [Iran] conquests on diverse fronts of the hot and cold war and the hard and soft [war] were attained precisely 11 years after the [beginning of] the challenge of the nuclear negotiations...

"The media and politicians in the West contradict themselves when talking of Iran. On the one hand, they claim that Iran is stubborn and inflexible, while on the other hand, they argue that Iran is showing flexibility due to weakness. They are deeply disgruntled by Iran's strategic resistance, and say so themselves. However, to prevent this resistance from serving as an inspiration to the world and challenging American control they [themselves] displayed tactical flexibility in the negotiations Now we must ask the defeated American statesmen: quite frankly,whose hands are tied - Iran's or America's"?[5]

Photos From 2015 Revolution Day Events In Iran

Left: Obama on the gallows, right: Obama as Pinocchio (Images: Fars, Iran, February 11, 2015; Tasnim, Iran, February 11, 2015)

(Images: Fars, Iran, February 11, 2015)

Demonstrators carrying fliers depicting Kerry as a fox (Images: Tasnim, Iran; Gamjoo.ir, February 11, 2015)

Demonstrators burn and trample the American flag (Images: Fars, Tasnim, February 11, 2015)

Pragmatic camp leaders Rafsanjani, Rohani and Zarif participate in Revolution Day processions(Images: Tasnim; Khabaronline.ir, February 11, 2015)

Fars Publishes Photo Of 2009 Anti-Regime Demonstration As Photo Of 2015 Revolution Day Rally

On February 11, 2015, the Fars news agency, which is affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, published the photo below as a picture of a 2015 Revolution Day rally. Iranian journalist Negar Mortazavi, who lives outside Iran, exposed that it is actually a photo of a 2009 demonstration against the Iranian regime.

(Twitter.com/NegarMortazavi/status/565769994605445120, February 11, 2015)