Hundreds of Iranian school students bused in for the occasion crowded outside the former U.S. Embassy on Monday, burning American flags and chanting slogans to commemorate the 29th anniversary of the building’s seizure by militant Iranian students.
Equal parts unofficial school holiday and angry demonstration, the commemoration came on the eve of the U.S. presidential election and was marked by anti-U.S. and anti-Israel chants and the burning of American, Israeli flags and an effigy of Uncle Sam.
Reza Pourtaghi, an 18-year-old high school senior at the rally, said anti-U.S. sentiments are strong among his generation. Iranian youth “must not forget that the U.S. is enemy of all Muslims, especially Iranians,” he said.
