Iran marks ’79 US Embassy takeover as renewed sanctions loom
TEHRAN, Iran — Thousands of Iranians rallied Sunday in commemoration of the 39th anniversary of the takeover and hostage crisis at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, just hours before the re-imposition of all American sanctions lifted by the nuclear deal.
The 444-day crisis after the fall of the U.S.-allied shah transfixed America, as nightly images of blindfolded hostages played on television sets across the nation. Ultimately, it would be President Jimmy Carter leaving office that saw all 52 captive American diplomats freed.
Sunday, hard-liners vented their rage at a new American president, Donald Trump, who pulled America out of the nuclear deal struck by his predecessor that the United Nations says Tehran still honours. With crippling sanctions on Iran’s vital oil industry set to take effect Monday, Iran’s already-anemic economy likely will suffer more, though politicians and protesters struck a defiant tone.
“Today the Iranian nation will show that Mr. Trump is too small to be able to bring Iran to its knees,” said Ali Larijani, Iran’s parliament speaker.