Ten-Day Dawn ceremonies were held across the country on Friday, marking the 40th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which put an end to the Pahlavi monarchic rule in Iran.
These events started all over the country at 9:33 a.m. local time, symbolically marking the precise time when the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini, returned home from a political exile and received an enthusiastic public reception at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport on Feb. 1, 1979.
A special ceremony was held at Imam Khomeini’s mausoleum south of Tehran, with a host of state and military officials as well as thousands of people from all walks of life in attendance.
In an address to the participants, Chairman of the Assembly of Experts Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said the Iranian people are ready to put up with financial hardships to safeguard the Islamic Revolution, ISNA reported.
“The people can withstand hunger and thirst, but they cannot tolerate the defeat of the revolution,” he said.
Another ceremony was held at the Mehrabad airport, in which Roads and Urban Development Minister Mohammad Eslami delivered a speech on the “economic achievements” of the Islamic Republic over the past four decades, which have helped the country resist threats and pressures by western powers, IRNA reported.
Imam Khomeini spent more than 14 years in exile, mostly in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf. He also spent some time in Turkey and France before his return to Iran.
Millions of people had converged on the capital from across the country on the day of his return. His arrival gave considerable momentum to popular protests against the Pahlavi regime, which eventually led to its overthrow 10 days later.
The festivities will culminate in nationwide rallies on Feb. 11, marking the victory of the Islamic Revolution.
Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, President Hassan Rouhani and members of his Cabinet on Wednesday visited the mausoleum to pay tribute to the late Imam and reaffirm their allegiance to his ideals. They were accompanied by the Imam’s grandson, Seyyed Hassan Khomeini.
By toppling the Pahlavi regime 40 years ago, the Iranian nation ended 2,500 years of monarchic rule in the country. The Islamic Revolution established a new political system based on Islamic values and democracy.
