TEHRAN

Thousands of people, riding cars and motorcycles, have taken to the streets in major cities across Iran on Friday to mark the 43rd anniversary of the 1979 revolution.

For the second straight year, the annual celebrations have been confined to motorcade rallies, with health authorities imposing fresh curbs on foot processions in the wake of a spike in coronavirus cases.

The motorcade rallies in Tehran began in the wee hours of Friday as cars and motorcycles from different parts of the city paraded toward Azadi Square – an important landmark in the Iranian capital.

The participants waved the tricolored flag of Iran from their car windows as patriotic songs filled the air.

Similar processions were also taken out in other major cities including Isfahan, Hamadan, Tabriz, Mashhad, and Qom.

On Thursday night, light and firework displays were put up across the country to commemorate the day in 1979 when the leader of the Iranian revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini, declared the end of West-backed Pahlavi rule in the Middle East country.

Bahman 22 (Feb. 11) marks the anniversary of the culmination of the 54-year rule of the country’s Pahlavi dynasty and the establishment of a theocratic form of government.

Ayatollah Khomeini, who led the anti-Pahlavi uprising, had returned to the country on Feb. 1, after spending 14 years in exile.

The events that led to the ouster of the last Pahlavi dynasty ruler – Mohammad Reza Pahlavi – and the return of Khomeini led to Iran’s deterioration of relations with the US.

In November the same year, the takeover of the US embassy in Tehran and the subsequent hostage crisis led to a diplomatic standoff between the two countries that continues to date.

President Ebrahim Raisi is expected to deliver a traditional address to mark the occasion later in the day.

In a statement, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said the “values of the revolution will continue to lead Iran's foreign policy.”

In a separate statement, ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said the “resolve to stand and strive for Iran's rights and interests remains unwavering.”

On Thursday, Raisi and Amir-Abdollahian hosted foreign diplomats stationed in Tehran in a ceremony to mark the anniversary of the 1979 revolution.

In his remarks at the ceremony, Raisi said his administration seeks “strengthening of good neighborliness, building trust and dialogue with its neighbors,” while accusing the incumbent US administration of following the same path as the previous administration.