Iran began 10 days of festivities on Saturday marking the 30th anniversary of its Islamic revolution that toppled the U.S.-backed shah and brought hard-line clerics to power. But pro-democracy reformists, who have been kicked out of power by hard-liners in recent years, complained that those running the country have failed to bring freedom and justice to Iran. The anniversary festivities — known as the “Ten Days of Dawn” — highlight the homecoming of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, whose return to Iran sparked mass protests that led to the ouster of the shah in 1979.
Church and school bells rang out mixing with the wail of train and boat sirens at 9:33 a.m. — the time Khomeini touched down 30 years ago at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport aboard a chartered Air France plane after 14 years in exile. Ten days later, the shah’s monarchial rule effectively collapsed following nationwide protests.
