November 27, 2020
Iran’s intelligence minister says the Iranian people have put the “totalitarian regime” of the United States on the verge of collapse.
In a message released on the eve of the 41st anniversary of the seizure of the US embassy in Tehran, Mahmud Alavi said Iran’s people had defeated the US and proved the inability of global arrogance to confront freedom-seeking nations.
The American totalitarian regime is on the verge of collapse, the minister said, citing the disruptions in the streets of many American cities in recent months.
The embassy was taken over November 4, 1979. But this year, the anniversary by the Persian solar calendar fell on November 3, which day was also the birth anniversary of the Prophet Muhammed by the Islamic lunar calendar.
In previous years, nationwide rallies for what is called the National Day of Fighting Global Arrogance were held in Tehran and many other Iranian cities. But this year, health authorities said the rallies would not be held because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Nonetheless, the conservative office in charge of commemorating the event said the ceremony would be held in many cities.
The ceremonies in Tehran and across the country would be held with “limited gatherings” by observing “preventive protocols,” Nosratollah Seifi, deputy head of the Islamic Development Coordination Council, said in a press conference.
Reformist figures worried the coverage of the hostage crisis anniversary would send a negative political message to the US. The anniversary fell on US Election Day this year.
“It is the message that extremists like to send to America, ‘Iran is an anti-US country, regardless of who wins the election, Trump or Biden,'” Mostafa Tajzadeh, a reformist Iranian politician, told ABC News.
Tajzadeh believes that the common interests shared by Tehran and Washington are greater than their conflicts.
“It is the reason why negotiation—with whoever has the office either in Iran or in the US—is a more feasible solution for the two countries than catastrophic options like a military approach,” he said.
Still, some people affiliated to conservative groups and to the opposition figures of the Islamic Republic prefer the reelection of President Trump.
“Pro-system conservatives prefer Trump, because this result will help them keep up the anti-negotiation stance they have always taken,” Tajzadeh explained.
He believes that Trump’s policies toward Tehran have empowered extremists, caused economic harm and damaged Reformist political powers.
