Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, at a rally commemorating the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Tehran, urged his country’s elite to seek unit amid increased tensions with the United States, calling US President Donald Trump a political novice. “Some beginners have come to power in our region. Throughout the world and in the United States also beginners have come to power. All of them must know that they should only talk to the great nation of Iran with respect and reverence. / We will stand against any threat, folly, and arson with our wisdom, resistance, and strength,” said Rouhani.
The demonstrators in Tehran and similar rallies across Iran on the anniversary of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, which toppled the US-backed shah regime, gathered to swear allegiance to the Islamic clerical establishment and protest against President Donald Trump. The demonstrators chanted during the rallies “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”, while many of them carried posters with images of US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and British Prime Minister Theresa May reading “Iranians not scared of threats.” The banners come after the Trump administration put Iran “on notice” in response to an Iranian ballistic missile test, capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, in direct violation of UN Security Council resolution 2231. Washington also imposed new sanctions on Iranian individuals and entities. Nevertheless, Iran declared that it will not halt its missile program, which it claims is meant for defensive purposes only, even though the tested missiles are capable of reaching as far as Western Europe.