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Iran Marks 20th Anniversary of Revolution
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| Khomeini led Iran's Islamic Revolution in 1979 | |
TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- School bells rang across the country, trains sounded their signals and helicopters showered flowers on the tomb of spiritual leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeinei on Monday as Iran marked the 20th anniversary of the Islamic revolution.
The bells were sounded at 9:33 a.m. to mark the exact moment in 1979 when Khomeini arrived in Tehran, ending 15 years of exile and launching his final popular assault on the shah's pro-Western monarchy. Ten days after Khomeini's return, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's regime fell.
Thousands of women in traditional black veils, and men carrying portraits of Khomeini, packed the golden-domed mausoleum south of Tehran to hear his grandson, Hassan Khomeini, praise the late leader as a selfless hero who sacrificed all for the revolution.
"Even the opponents of the Imam (Khomeini) admitted that he was entirely committed to carrying out his duty...His own holy self was what had the least importance for him," Hassan Khomeini said. "He came as a hero and went as a hero."
As Hassan Khomeini spoke, flowers were dropped from helicopters on the nearby graves of thousands of people who died in the revolution and in the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.
The "10-Day Dawn" celebrations -- marking the 10 days between Khomeini's arrival and the shah's ouster -- will feature nightly laser shows on revolutionary themes as well as sporting events, film, music and theater festivals, and official exhibits on the country's achievements since 1979.
Ended 2,500 years of monarchs
The events will culminate in a mass rally and a military parade on February 11, the day in 1979 when the regime of the shah fell after three days of street battles, ending a 2,500-year period dominated by autocratic monarchs.
Shortly after Khomeini's rise to power, Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and seized 52 American diplomats, who were held hostage the capital for more than a year.
Hashemi Rafsanjani, Iran's former president who now heads a powerful policy-making body, told the crowds that the United States was still the enemy.
He claimed that only Iran's military might prevented the United States and Britain from carrying out attacks on Iran similar to those against Iraq.
Earlier in the day, President Mohammad Khatami and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Khomeini's successor as Iran's supreme leader, paid their respects at the shrine.
Khamenei has called on moderates backing President Khatami and conservatives to curb their feuds, which have focused lately on a spate of killings of dissidents and upcoming nationwide local elections.
Khatami, a reformist Shiite Muslim cleric, unexpectedly routed conservative and hard-line candidates in presidential elections less than two years ago.
Khatami's advocacy of a "civil society" based on social and political liberties enshrined in Iran's constitution has intensified the struggle between moderates and conservatives who fear that the reforms will water down Khomeini's revolutionary ideals.
The conservatives are also suspicious of Khatami's efforts to ease tensions with the United States, blasted as the "Great Satan" by Khomeini for its support of the late shah.
The above transcript was provided by Cable News Network,
Inc. and is property of CNN Broadcasting. The presentation of the material
is property of Iran Culture and Information Center.
© 1999 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
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