Iran marks 1979 US Embassy takeover amid nationwide protests

By JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran is marking the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran as its theocracy faces nationwide protests after the death of a 22-year-old woman earlier arrested by the country’s morality police. Iranian state-run television aired live feeds of various commemorations around the country Friday, with some in Tehran waving placards of the triangle-shaped drones Russia now uses to strike targets in Ukraine. But while crowds in Tehran looked large with chador-wearing women waving the Islamic Republic’s flag, other commemorations appeared smaller, with only a few dozen people taking part. Iran’s hardline president criticized the demonstrations as backing Tehran’s enemies.