Anniv. of Pro-Establishment Rallies Commemorated

Iranians took to the streets across the country to commemorate the seventh anniversary of rallies held on December 30, 2009, to defend the Islamic Republic. People rallied in various cities, including the capital Tehran, on Thursday to celebrate "Dey 9 epic" that restored calm to the nation after months of political wrangling and unrest that had followed the presidential election in June of the same year. Secretary of Iran's Expediency Council Mohsen Rezaei described the event as the true manifestation of the nation's will and the Islamic establishment's political progress. "Such a glorious and matchless demonstration was a shot at the heart of the United States, Israel and enemies of the Islamic establishment," he said in a speech in the central city of Yazd, Press TV reported. On December 30, 2009, loyalists took to the streets in Tehran and several other major cities and condemned the unrest, which erupted following the 2009 presidential poll.