Thousands of Iranians vowed not to yield to US pressure as they marched across the country on Sunday to mark the anniversary of the 1979 seizure of the American Embassy in Tehran.
The crowd chanted slogans against the United States to protest its decision to reimpose sanctions on Iran and denounced Israeli and Saudi support for Washington's hostile policy against the Islamic Republic.
On Friday, the US administration announced that sanctions on Iran's shipping, financial and energy sectors will be restored on Monday, the second batch of penalties to be reimposed after US President Donald Trump withdrew Washington in May from the nuclear agreement signed between Tehran and world powers in 2015.
In a speech in front of the compound that once housed the US mission, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari said the tool of sanctions against the Islamic Republic has been exhausted, ISNA reported.
"The sanctions are ineffective but some find it difficult to believe because of the enemy's propaganda warfare," he said, adding that US plans to confront Iran through sanctions will fail.
Jafari noted that the Americans have decided to avoid military action against Iran despite their threats, as they are aware of the country's power.
The United States severed diplomatic ties with the Islamic Republic in 1980, a few months after the embassy takeover, a pivotal event of the Islamic Revolution. The two countries have been increasingly at odds over Iran's nuclear and missile programs and its growing influence in the Middle East since Trump took office in January 2017.
Laughing Stock
At the beginning of an open session of parliament on Sunday, Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani said Trump will fail to "bring Iran to its knees" because the nation will continue to resist US excessive demands and diktats.
"The current US administration has become the laughing stock of politicians all around the world and even traditional US allies are exploring novel ways" to protect themselves against US actions, he said, in reference to Europe's efforts to salvage the nuclear deal.
The Europeans are trying to save the accord by developing a financial mechanism that would skirt American sanctions by enabling their companies to trade oil in local currencies or barter rather than in dollars.
"Today, nations are fed up with the Americans' bullying and desire for domination," Larijani said, adding that the Trump administration has targeted the Iranian people, particularly women and children, with its inhumane sanctions.
A statement issued by students who attended the rally in Tehran along with a number of senior officials declared that the nation will continue to back the government in its resistance against the United States.
"If you make the slightest mistake in the region, which would threaten the interests of the Islamic Republic, you will see its tough and decisive response," they said, addressing US authorities.
