Iran ballistic missiles revealed in anti-US protest march
Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution anniversary celebrations featured state-of-the-art weapons and hundreds of thousands of anti-US and anti-Israel protesters.
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Ghadr ballistic missile next to a picture of leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Photo: AFP |
"The US and Israel want to create tension in the region, divide Iraq and Syria. They want to create long-term instability in Lebanon. But with our help, their policy has completely failed,"Reutersquoted Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaking yesterday during a ceremony commemorating the 1979 Islamic Revolution, held in the capital Tehran.
Iran displayed its Ghadr ballistic missile system with a range of 2,000 km during the celebrations, a move seen as a protest against Western pressure to abandon its ballistic missile program. Tehran insists its weapons program is for self-defense purposes and that it is not up for negotiation with the US and Europe.
Iranian media said “tens of millions” marched in support of the Islamic Revolution and against Washington and Tel Aviv. In the capital Tehran, many carried anti-US and anti-Israel banners, burned the flags of both countries and destroyed effigies of US President Donald Trump.
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Iranian people join the celebration at the central square of the capital Tehran. Photo: AFP |
Iran has supported Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian civil war, as well as Shiite militias in Iraq, Houthi rebels in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Washington sees Tehran as a threat to Middle East stability, and US President Donald Trump is determined to work with Israel and Saudi Arabia to contain Iran's growing influence.
The Israeli airstrike on Iranian targets in Syria on February 10 was the most serious confrontation between the two countries in this civil war. Syrian air defense forces claimed to have shot down an Israeli F-16 fighter jet, after it shot down an Iranian drone.
