Iran marks 47th anniversary of Islamic Revolution amid nuclear talks, protests

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Iran marked the 47th anniversary of its 1979 Islamic Revolution on Wednesday with a split screen of state-backed celebrations and public anger over a crackdown and persistent nuclear tensions with the United States. President Masoud Pezeshkian used a televised anniversary stage to reiterate Iran’s willingness to negotiate over its nuclear program and to address the domestic unrest that has gripped the country since early January.

State television broadcast pro-government rallies across Iran that included burning American flags and slogans such as “Death to America,” while witnesses described anti-government shouts from homes in Tehran the night before, including “Death to the dictator!” The anniversary also featured scenes of missiles displayed alongside fragments authorities described as from downed Israeli drones, and fake coffins draped in the American flag, including one bearing the picture of U.S. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, head of the U.S. military’s Central Command.

At Azadi Square in Tehran, Pezeshkian insisted that Iran is willing to engage in talks that are “aimed at peace and stability in the region,” even as he framed the likelihood of an agreement as constrained by mistrust. He said Iran is “not seeking nuclear weapons” and is “ready for any kind of verification,” while also warning that the gap between the United States and Europe and Tehran prevents the talks from reaching a conclusion.

The president also addressed the internal crackdown that has overshadowed the anniversary events. While he did not give new details about the response to the protests, Pezeshkian acknowledged the crackdown that began in earnest on Jan. 8 and said it “caused great sorrow.” He added, “We are ashamed before the people, and we are obligated to assist all those who were harmed in these incidents,” and said Iran “We are not seeking confrontation with the people.”

On the streets, participants and observers described very different experiences of the day, depending on where they stood. Iranian state media highlighted support for Iran’s theocracy and the leadership of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, while others criticized Tehran’s exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi, who has called for anti-government protests. One participant, Reza Jedi, said, “I am here to say we don’t stop supporting our leader and our country as the Americans and Israelis are increasingly threatening” the country.

The unrest also reached beyond rallies, and even some people who had attended earlier anniversary protests said they were staying away this time. One man watching from a sidewalk in Tehran, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, said he “regularly participated in the rally in past years” but said he did not believe he could attend now because “how can I do that now as the streets’ asphalt were bloodied last month?” MSI previously reported that Iran’s crackdown on protests has killed more than 7,000 people, activists said.

While Pezeshkian spoke about negotiations, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, has been unable for months to inspect and verify Iran’s nuclear stockpile. The absence of verification and the lack of trust between Tehran and Washington also shaped how Iran’s leaders described the prospects for talks, even as regional intermediaries attempted to keep diplomacy moving.

In parallel with the anniversary events, a senior Iranian security official, Ali Larijani, traveled to Qatar and met with Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha after earlier visits to Oman, which has mediated the latest round of negotiations. Qatar hosts a major U.S. military installation that Iran attacked in June, after the U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear sites during the 12-day Iran-Israel war. Larijani also met with Hamas officials in Qatar, and met with Tehran-backed Houthi rebels in Oman, according to the report.

Larijani told Qatar’s Al Jazeera that Iran did not receive any specific proposal from the United States in Oman, though he acknowledged an “exchange of messages.” Qatar’s state-run news agency reported that ruling emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani spoke by phone with President Trump about “the current situation in the region and international efforts aimed at de-escalation and strengthening regional security and peace,” without elaborating. In a separate appearance, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran still does not have “full trust for the Americans,” citing the experience of a prior negotiation in which the United States attacked Iran.

The U.S. posture toward Iran has also included military signals. The report said the U.S. has positioned forces in the Middle East to pressure Iran into an agreement and maintain the firepower to strike if President Trump chooses to do so, including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and related ships and warplanes. It also said U.S. forces shot down a drone it said came too close to the Lincoln and came to the aid of a U.S.-flagged ship that Iranian forces tried to stop in the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump told Axios he was considering sending a second carrier to the region, saying, “We have an armada that is heading there and another one might be going.” The report noted that it was unclear what ship could be sent, with the USS George H.W. Bush said to have left Norfolk, Virginia, and the USS Gerald R. Ford remaining in the Caribbean after a U.S. military raid that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, speaking during a visit to Baku, said the focus had been reaching a deal through negotiations but did not rule out other options if talks break down, adding, “He’s going to have a lot of options, because we have the most powerful military in the world.”