Iranians burn Bush in effigy

By Robin Wright
The Washington Post

MAJID SAEEDI / GETTY IMAGES An Iranian man passes an anti-U.S. mural outside the former U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran, yesterday. Today is the 25th anniversary of the seizure of the embassy by militant students, who held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days.

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Officially, the angry street demonstration marked today's 25th anniversary of the student takeover of the old U.S. Embassy, when 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days. Unlike past commemorations, this one focused just as much on the future — and the potential for another showdown with the United States during Bush's second term.

Bush — not Jimmy Carter, who was president during the 1979-81 hostage drama — was the centerpiece of the protest. Three massive photographs of the president were part of the backdrop for a series of speakers who blasted current U.S. policies. The subtext throughout the noisy morning protest, held in front of the former American compound that is now a Revolutionary Guards training center, was the escalating dispute between the U.S. and Iran over Iran's nuclear-energy program.

"Nuclear technology is our right, and we are not going to surrender our rights to the United States or Europe," vowed one of several such banners waved by teenage schoolgirls packed into the crowd of thousands. The two-hour rally ended with a statement, read to roaring chants of "Allahu Akbar" ("God is great") that Iran would never give up its right to nuclear technology. Bush's invasions to topple governments in Iraq and Afghanistan, which both share long strategic borders with Iran, have led many Iranians to suspect the president is eyeing some form of confrontation with them.

"If America is going to attack us, it's important to protect ourselves," said Shiva Mosapour, a 16-year-old high-school student wearing a black chador that she held tight under her chin.

Mosapour's assumption about Bush's intentions during his second term echoed many in a new young generation that doesn't remember the monarchy — or the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in response to the Carter administration's decision to take in the dying Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. For her, the demonstration was appropriate because it fell on the U.S. election day 25 years later.

Iran hostage crisis On Nov. 4, 1979 — 25 years ago today — the U.S. Embassy in Tehran was seized by militant Iranian students who were part of that country's Islamic revolution. The students were angered that the United States had allowed Iran's ousted Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi into the country to be treated for cancer in New York. They held 52 Americans for more than 14 months — 444 days. The hostages were released Jan. 20, 1981, the day President Reagan was inaugurated.

A 15-year-old high-school sophomore with curly dark hair named Mohammed — told by a demonstration organizer not to share his last name — played Bush for the day. Costumed in a giant Styrofoam head of Bush, with pingpong balls for eyes, Mohammed said he wanted the role to caricature the president.

"What Bush says is nonsense about the reasons for attacks on other countries — that he does it all in the name of democracy," he said. "Look how many people his decisions have killed in Iraq."

Older Iranians at the demonstration — organized this year by hard-line factions like the Islamic Coalition Party and the Revolutionary Guards that are increasingly powerful now that conservatives dominate Iranian politics — were equally critical.

"Bush will bring America bad luck," said Fatima Hoshmahd, a 70-year-old housewife who lost a son during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s.

"Why did people vote for Bush when he brought such bloodshed to this region?"

Hossein Mousavian, a top security official, yesterday blamed successive U.S. administrations for the continued strained relations.

"Iran has showed a lot of goodwill, but America has reneged on its promises each time, effectively spoiling any chance of a rapprochement," Mousavian told The Associated Press.

The United States broke diplomatic relations with Iran after the embassy takeover, and they have not been restored.

Mousavian said about 50 world leaders conveyed messages to former president Hashemi Rafsanjani in the 1980s that Washington would show "unbelievable goodwill" if Iran used its influence to release Western hostages held in Lebanon at that time. Iran has long been accused of backing the militants who kidnapped foreigners during Lebanon's civil war.

"We showed goodwill and helped release the hostages, but America reneged on its promises," he said.

"We openly supported the Afghan Northern Alliance against the Taliban. Without our support, America would have not been able to overthrow the Taliban in Afghanistan," Mousavian added.

Instead of rewarding Iran, he complained, Bush included Iran in his "axis of evil," further worsening ties.

Iran also accuses the CIA of helping topple the elected government of Mohammad Mosaddiq in the 1950s and blames the United States for supporting the shah overthrown in the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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