DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Iran on Friday marked the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran as its theocracy faces nationwide protests after the September death of a 22-year-old woman who was arrested by the country's morality police.
While crowds in Tehran looked large with chador-wearing women waving the Islamic Republic's flag, other commemorations in the country appeared smaller, with only a few dozen people taking part.
Iran's hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, speaking to people gathered in front of the former U.S. Embassy building, criticized those protesting the theocracy.
"Anyone taking the smallest step in the direction of breaching security and riots, must know that they are stepping in the direction of enemies of the Islamic Revolution," he said. "Americans think they can execute the plan they carried out in some countries like Syria and Libya here. What a false dream!"
Those at the commemoration also waved effigies of French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
At least 300 protesters have been killed and 14,000 arrested since the unrest began seven weeks ago after the death, according to a Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that's been monitoring the crackdown on demonstrators.
Iran's government has not offered an overall death toll, with one state newspaper countering that no one had been killed by security forces over the 49 days of protests.
Later Friday, protests began in Iran's southeastern Sistan and Baluchestan province, which has seen weeks of unrest. Some protesters appeared bloodied in online videos, while activists said some had been killed. No casualty figures were immediately known.
Hard-liners within Iran long have bussed government workers and others into such Nov. 4 demonstrations, which have a carnival-like feel for those taking part in downtown Tehran.
This year, however, it remained clear Iran's theocracy hopes to energize its hard-line base. The weekslong demonstrations have included cries calling for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's death and the overthrow of the government.
The annual commemoration marks when student demonstrators climbed over the fence at the embassy Nov. 4, 1979, angered by then-President Jimmy Carter allowing the fatally ill Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to receive cancer treatment in the United States.
The students soon took over the leafy compound.
The 444-day crisis transfixed America, as images of blindfolded hostages played nightly on televisions nationwide. Iran released the captives the day Carter left office in 1981.
That enmity between Iran and the U.S. has ebbed and surged over the decades since.
The U.S. and world powers reached a nuclear deal with Iran in 2015 that drastically curtailed its program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. However, then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2018, sparking years of tensions since.
Late Thursday, President Joe Biden also stopped his speech to address a crowd that held up cellphones displaying the message "FREE IRAN."
"Don't worry. ... They're gonna free themselves pretty soon," Biden said during a campaign rally for Rep. Mike Levin, D-Calif.
In his speech Friday, Raisi referenced Biden's comments.
"Maybe he said this because of a lack of concentration. ... He said we aim to liberate Iran," Raisi said. "Iran was liberated 43 years ago and it's determined not to become your captive again."
Biden had said he was willing to have the U.S. rejoin the nuclear deal, but talks have broken down. Since the protests began in mid-September, American officials have said restoring the deal isn't a priority amid the demonstrations.
A man holds up an anti-U.S. placard during an annual demonstration in front of the former U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Nov. 4, 2022. Iran on Friday marked the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran as its theocracy faces nationwide protests after the death of a 22-year-old woman earlier arrested by the country's morality police. The shirt of the young man on the poster contains a picture of the late Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in Iraq in a U.S. drone attack in 2020. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Demonstrators chant slogans as one of them holds up a poster of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a demonstration in front of the former U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Nov. 4, 2022. Iran on Friday marked the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran as its theocracy faces nationwide protests after the death of a 22-year-old woman earlier arrested by the country's morality police. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A man holds up a poster of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the others wave the country's flags during a demonstration in front of the former U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Nov. 4, 2022. Iran on Friday marked the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran as its theocracy faces nationwide protests after the death of a 22-year-old woman earlier arrested by the country's morality police. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Iranians burn representations of the U.S. and Israeli flags as a man wearing Uncle Sam costume cries during annual demonstration in front of the former U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Nov. 4, 2022. Iran on Friday marked the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran as its theocracy faces nationwide protests after the death of a 22-year-old woman earlier arrested by the country's morality police. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A cleric attends an annual demonstration in front of the former U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Nov. 4, 2022. Iran on Friday marked the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran as its theocracy faces nationwide protests after the death of a 22-year-old woman earlier arrested by the country's morality police. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Uncle Sam character holds representations of the U.S. and Israeli flags prior to be set on fire by demonstrators during an annual demonstration in front of the former U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Nov. 4, 2022. Iran on Friday marked the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran as its theocracy faces nationwide protests after the death of a 22-year-old woman earlier arrested by the country's morality police. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Iranian women flash a victory sign during annual demonstration in front of the former U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Nov. 4, 2022. Iran on Friday marked the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran as its theocracy faces nationwide protests after the death of a 22-year-old woman earlier arrested by the country's morality police. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi addresses the crowd during an annual demonstration in front of the former U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Nov. 4, 2022. Iran on Friday marked the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran as its theocracy faces nationwide protests after the death of a 22-year-old woman earlier arrested by the country's morality police. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)Gallery: Iran marks anniversary of embassy takeover
