Iranians mark US embassy siege

By Frances Harrison
BBC News, Tehran

Protesters compared George W Bush to Hitler Enlarge Image

Thousands of school children and students in Tehran have marked the anniversary of the hostage-taking at the American embassy in 1979.

The speaker of the Iranian parliament compared the event to the current nuclear row, saying America always wanted to put Iran under pressure.

It was a rowdy celebration of student power, with boys and girls segregated outside the former American embassy.

A huge red flag saying "Death to America" was burned.

Many people carried banners with the same slogan and even puppets of Uncle Sam.

Addressing the crowd, the speaker of the Iranian parliament, Gholam Ali Hadad-Adel, warned America that Iranians were ready to react to any attempt to limit their access to nuclear power.

He said Iran was willing to pay the price of its independence once again.

No regrets

Iran's former President, Mohammad Khatami, had expressed regret for the seizure of the American embassy and its staff but today - with a new more conservative government in power - there is little sign of remorse.

Instead the speakers asked why America had not learned its lesson from the hostage-taking.

One young girl born after the revolution said she did not think the American embassy would ever reopen in Tehran because the United States was against Iran.

Another boy said if Iran was threatened again, he would be willing to copy the students who seized the US embassy in 1979.