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Iran marks revolution, puts pressure on opposition

12 February 2011 02:46 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Hundreds of thousands turned out on Friday to mark the 32nd anniversary of Iran’s Islamic Revolution in a rally the clerical establishment billed as a chance to show solidarity with "Islamic" protesters in Egypt, APA reports quoting â€œReutersâ€.
"Death to America," and "Death to Israel," shouted demonstrators, repeating the ritual chant of the revolution which toppled the U.S.-backed Shah in 1979 and swept the Shi’ite Muslim clergy to power.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reiterated the authorities’ view -- challenged by their political opponents -- that the uprisings in Tunisia and against Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak are an "Islamic awakening" similar to Iran’s revolution.
Most opposition groups in Egypt, including the banned Muslim Brotherhood, have stressed the secular nature of their protests.
"Victory is imminent ... arrogant powers are close to hitting the end ... Our nation supports your choice," he told the crowd in a speech at Tehran’s Azadi (Liberty) square, to chants of "Mubarak, congratulations on the Egyptians’ uprising."
Ahmadinejad also predicted the fall of the "arrogant powers" and called on them to "dismantle the Zionist regime (Israel) which is the main cause of all crimes." Iran does not recognize Israel.
"Soon a new Middle East will be created ... a Middle East in which there is no place for arrogant powers," Ahmadinejad said, his speech broadcast live on state television. "You have to dismantle the Zionist regime as it has been imposed ... by you."
People in the square waved flags and carried pictures of the late leader of Iran’s revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and his successor Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
PRESSURE MOUNTS
State television said "tens of millions of people" rallied to support the revolution across the country.
A dispute over the presidential election in 2009 provoked the worst unrest in three decades in Iran itself, and also led to a deepening rift among the ruling elite.
Mass opposition protests ended in December 2009 but opposition leaders, who said the vote was rigged to secure Ahmadinejad’s re-election, say the freedom movement is still alive in Iran.
Mehdi Karroubi and Mirhossein Mousavi, who lost the 2009 vote to Ahmadinejad, have asked permission to hold a rally on Monday to support the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.
Opposition websites said Karroubi had been under house arrest and at least eight moderate activists and journalists had been detained since Wednesday. Judiciary officials were not available for comment.
Hardline authorities, trying to prevent a revival of anti-government street protests, have warned opponents against holding their rally.
Karroubi, in an interview with the New York Times conducted via internet from his home, said the rally was a test for both the government and its opponents.
Opposition leaders say the pro-democracy uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia mirror the anti-government demonstrations in Iran in 2009, not the 1979 Islamic revolution as claimed by the authorities.

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Iran marks revolution, puts pressure on opposition

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