Iranians rally to mark 1979 revolution, Egyptian uprising

Reporting from Tehran and Beirut —  Chanting anti-U.S. slogans, thousands of Iranians marched in Tehran to commemorate the 32nd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution that toppled the shah — and to celebrate the Egyptian uprising that resulted in President Hosni Mubarak’s ouster Friday.

Braving low temperatures and biting winds, people of all ages gathered in Azadi, or Freedom, Square, some sipping fruit juice and waving balloons provided by organizers. Others took advantage of free subway rides offered by authorities. Similar government-organized celebrations took place in other Iranian cities, with official news agencies saying hundreds of thousands attended. There was no independent confirmation.

Iranian authorities invoked the uprising in Egypt and last month’s rebellion in Tunisia, as a key rallying point this year, with state-run TV broadcasting simultaneous live footage of the rally in Tehran and that of the huge anti-government demonstrations in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.

Near Azadi Square, an effigy of President Obama, with a portrait of Mubarak on his chest that branded him a lackey of the West, was accompanied by the text “na-mubarak,” which means not blessed or cursed.

In his annual revolution anniversary speech, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that a new Islamic Middle East was being created without American or Israeli interference.

“They [the United States] have adopted a friendly face and saying ‘we are friends of the people of North Africa and Arab countries,’ but be watchful and united,” he was quoted as saying in media reports. “You will be victorious.... the Iranian nation is your friend and it is your right to freely choose your path. The Iranian nation backs this right of yours,” he said.

Powerful Iranian religious figures also weighed in on the developments in Egypt during Friday prayers, calling on the religious establishment in Cairo to take on a more prominent role in the political upheaval.

“We congratulate the Iranian and Egyptian nations,” said Ayatollah Kazem Sadiqi, in a sermon in Tehran. “The Iranian nation for its Islamic Revolution 32 years ago and to the Egyptians for their enlightenment for taking inspiration from the Iranian Islamic Revolution…. we expect the clergymen in Egypt and the scholars… to monitor and be vigilant not to let the uprisings be deviated from the Islamic path.”

Some rally-goers said they would like to see Egypt and Tunisia be run by Islamist governments in the future.

“They have revived their Friday prayers in Tunis and Egypt,” said a 50-year old employee at a state-run organization who gave his name as Abbas. “I do not know what will be the next system there but I think it will be Islamic.”

Others criticized the West — the U.S. in particular — for supporting Mubarak and the ousted Tunisian leader, Zine el Abidine ben Ali.

“The USA administration and Western countries supported the lackeys in the Arab world,” said Haj Hasan, 57, who owns a foreign currency shop in central Tehran. “The explosion of the people’s anger became inevitable. It is like putting a cat in a corner. Why on earth was Mubarak siding so much with Israel and did not allow any food to reach Gaza?”

The attempt by Iranian authorities to appropriate the Egyptian uprising appears to be linked in part to their efforts to keep their own opposition at bay.

This week, the Iranian judiciary rejected a request by Iranian opposition leaders Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi to hold a rally Monday in support of the protests in Egypt and Tunisia, saying only pro-government forces could march.

“If an individual truly shares the brave Egyptians’ and Tunisians’ motivation, then he will participate in the rally to be held on the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution’s victory, along with the government and the nation,” Iranian Judiciary Spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei was quoted as saying by the Iranian Labor News Agency.

Reports have also surfaced about fresh waves of arrests of opposition activists. On Thursday, Karroubi’s website said he had been placed under house arrest.

Mostaghim reported from Tehran and Sandels from Beirut. Both are special correspondents.