March 15, 2019
The regime marked the 40th anniversary of the revolution last month with its usual massive rally in Tehran accompanied by rousing anti-foreign rhetoric.
President Rohani even went so far as to call President Trump an “idiot.”
A pre-drafted resolution was read out ahead of Rohani’s speech proclaiming “unquestioning obedience” to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenehi.
Yadollah Javani, the deputy commander of the Pasdaran for political affairs, said Iran would demolish Israel if Washington ever attacked the Islamic Republic. “The United States does not have the courage to fire a single bullet at us despite all its defensive and military assets. But if they ever attack us, we will raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground.”
Trump recognized the anniversary with a tweet: “40 years of corruption. 40 years of repression. 40 years of terror. The regime in Iran has produced only #40YearsofFailure.”
An anchor on state television warned that foreign media would try to minimize the turnout at the rally. The Iran Times did not see any foreign media coverage that said anything other than that the turnout was huge.
Bloomberg News reported, however, that in addition to the usual “Down with America” signs, it saw placards reading, “No to embezzlement,” “No to profiteering” and “No to Aristocracy.”
In his speech, Rohani said, “Today, we have a true democracy in Iran. Parties, newspapers and the media are free in this country and all authorities must approach elections with an open mind. The more our minds are open, the readier we will be to prepare the groundwork for the presence of all thoughts, parties and factions.”
A few days after he spoke about the free press, the regime closed the daily Qanoon.