IRAN: Thousands hold rally on 26th anniversary of capture of U.S. embassy by Iranian students and blast causes minor damage to British Airways building in Tehran

Record ID: 214613

  • Title: IRAN: Thousands hold rally on 26th anniversary of capture of U.S. embassy by Iranian students and blast causes minor damage to British Airways building in Tehran
  • Date: 2nd November 2005
  • Summary: (BN11)TEHRAN, IRAN (FILE - 1979) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF HOSTAGE TAKERS BRANDISHING WEAPONS AS THEY RIDE IN A VEHICLE VARIOUS OF HOSTAGE TAKERS THROWING PAPERS FROM WINDOWS OF THE U.S. EMBASSY HOSTAGE TAKERS LEADING BLINDFOLDED AND HANDCUFFED AMERICAN HOSTAGES UNCLE SAM EFFIGY BEING BURNT; DEMONSTRATORS RIPPING UP PAPERS
  • Embargoed: 17th November 2005 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA52F3JPRGXV8Q95X0C6FCZ5PAS
  • Story Text: Thousands of students took part in a rally in Tehran
    on Wednesday (November 2) in front of the building that
    once housed the U.S. embassy.
    The rally was to commemorate the 26th anniversary of
    the take-over of the U.S. embassy on 4 November 1979 that
    former Leader Imam Khomeini called a "second revolution".
    Rallies to mark the national day of a 'campaign against
    global arrogance', which is observed annually on November
    4, started in Tehran on Wednesday from different parts of
    the capital.
    Those taking part in the rallies, including groups of
    school and university students, shouted slogans against the
    'occupying regime of Qods' (Israeli government) and the
    United States as they marched through Tehran's streets.
    They also voiced support for the government of the Islamic
    Republic and its policy upholding the country's right to
    use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
    A small bomb exploded outside the offices of BP and
    British Airways in Tehran on Wednesday, causing some damage
    but no casualties, police said.
    There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the
    attack, which appeared similar to a bombing outside the
    same offices in August. The perpetrators of the August
    blast have not been identified.
    In Tehran, police spokesman Mehdi Ahmadi said a
    hand-made bomb had exploded, breaking windows but not
    hurting anyone.
    An employee at the building in a busy Tehran street
    said the device had gone off in a rubbish bin near a
    10th-floor lift.
    A British Airways spokesman in London attributed the
    blast to a percussion device designed to create more noise
    than damage.
    He said staff at BA's franchise partner BMED, which
    operates daily flights between Tehran and London, were
    working as normal.
    British-Iranian diplomatic relations are experiencing a
    rough patch, with Tehran obstructing British imports and
    accusing London of fomenting Arab separatist bomb attacks
    this year in the southwestern oil province of Khuzestan.
    Britain has taken a lead role in trying to persuade
    Iran to stop making atomic fuel, which Washington fears
    could be used in nuclear weapons, and has accused Iran of
    aiding Iraqi rebels.
    British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has denounced a
    recent call by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for
    Israel's destruction, said on Wednesday there was no
    intention to invade Iran or threaten it militarily.
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