Published 18:15 IST, February 10th 2021
EAM Jaishankar greets Iran's Zarif, citizens on the eve of Islamic Revolution anniversary
External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar on February 10 greeted his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif on the eve of the Islamic Revolution’s anniversar
External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar on February 10 greeted his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif on the eve of the Islamic Revolution’s anniversary. Taking to Twitter, EAM not only noted that India “deeply values” its ties with Iran but also showcased confidence that the relations “will continue” to enhance. Iranian Revolution refers to the renowned movement in Iran to overthrow a pro-western monarchy and establish an Islamic republic in 1979. It was due to the result of this Iranian Revolution that Iran became the Islamic Republic. This February 2021 marks 42nd anniversary of the movement.
Islamic Revolution in Iran
The current strenuous relationship between the United States and Iran budded from 1979 as both nations since then, have been sworn, enemies. The Islamic Revolution ousted the US-backed Shah Mohammad Reza, who had already fled the country weeks earlier after months of protests against his regime. The ties between both the nations have been severed since November of that year. As per reports, the radical students demanding shah’s extradition seized at least 52 hostages at the US embassy in Tehran and then held them for 444 days.
However, the decades-long rivalry further worsened under former US President Donald Trump’s leadership who unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear accord of 2015 and imposed crippling sanctions on Iran. Rouhani, referring to US sanctions on the Islamic republic said, “In the past two years, America has put so much pressure on our beloved people, on all of our trade, all of our exports, all of our imports, and all of the country's needs, to exhaust the patience of our people.”
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani last year, during the same occasion, had said that the Islamic Revolution is ‘unbearable’ for the United States and is still in place even 41 years after bringing down the American ally the shah.
“It is unbearable for the United States to accept the victory of a great nation and that a superpower has been driven out of this land," Rouhani had said. "It is natural for them to have dreamt, for 41 years, of returning to this land, because they know that we are one of the most powerful countries" in the Middle East.
Updated 18:13 IST, February 10th 2021