Thousands of Iranians celebrated the 43rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Tehran on Friday, parading by car, bicycle or motorcycle due to restrictions due to the covid-19 pandemic.
As in 2021, television announced a ban on marching on foot to avoid the risk of contagion and called for celebrating the anniversary of the revolt that overthrew the shah in 1979 in this alternative way.
Protesters converged on the iconic Azadi Square, some with their vehicles painted in the colors of the national flag red, white and green, and chanting anti-US slogans.
Several American flags were burned in the protest to the cry of “We will not surrender”, an AFP photographer found.
State television broadcast images of similar marches in other big cities such as Shiraz, Isfahan, Tabriz and Mashhad.
These celebrations mark the day of the return from exile of Ayatollah Khomeini who overthrew the Pahlavi monarchy.
On-foot demonstrations are prohibited due to the epidemiological situation in Iran, a country of 85 million inhabitants where 6.7 million were infected with covid-19.
