Anniversary of the Iranian Revolution

The Anniversary of the Iranian Revolution (Persian: راهپیمایی ۲۲ بهمن) is a date celebrated in Iran on 22 Bahman, the 11th month in the Iranian calendar, equivalent to 11 February in the Gregorian calendar.

It commemorates the culmination of the protests that led to the downfall of the Pahlavi dynasty and the establishment of a revolutionary state. The anniversary is held on the last day of the Fajr decade, a ten-day celebration of Ruhollah Khomeini's return to Iran.

On 16 January 1979, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi left Iran amidst large protests from the general populace, entrusting Shapour Bakhtiar with the position of prime minister to establish a secular civilian administration.^[1] Khomeini, meanwhile, entered Tehran from France on 1 February 1979, after nearly 15 years in exile.^[2]

By 11 February 1979, after ten days of an intense uprising led by Khomeini, the Iranian Army announced that it would remain neutral in conflicts between revolutionaries and guardians of the government left in place by the Shah.^[3] Bakhtiar, rendered powerless, resigned the same day the army announced its decision, thus ending the Iranian monarchy.^[3] Khomeini assumed power as Supreme Leader and instructed the swift formation of an Islamic republic.^[4]

On 11 February 1979, upon the end of the revolution, hundreds of military personnel and policemen marched toward the Shahyad Tower (now Azadi).^[5] One of their demands was to reduce dependence on the United States and the Soviet Union, dominant powers of that time.^[6]

In January 2010, before the 31st anniversary of the revolution, regime authorities executed two young dissidents, Arash Rahmanipour and Mohammed Reza Ali Zamani.^[7] Additionally, 16 protestors from the Iranian Green Movement were prosecuted, 5 of whom were sentenced to execution for being deemed "enemies of God," while an extra 37 individuals were scheduled to stand trial.^[7] In response, top opposition leaders Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi condemned the crackdown and called for protests on 11 February.^[8] The Voice of America (VOA) quoted Joe Stork, the Middle East director at the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch, who said that the regime attempts to use the anniversary celebration to "deflect attention" from its human rights violations.^[9] On the Voice of America, Mousavi and Karoubi voiced that the "majority of the Iranian people want to regain their rights."^[10] An Iranian opposition website, Rahesabz, stated that thousands of pro-democracy activists gathered largely on the outskirts of regime-sponsored celebrations,^[11] and in reference to Ali Khamenei, chanted "Death to the Dictator!"^[12] According to Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment, had there been no restrictions on the right to assemble in Iran, there would have been at least five million anti-regime protestors on the streets.^[13] During the subsequent protests, Iranian security forces fired tear gas at opposition supporters, and Mousavi and Karoubi, who had urged their supporters to remain peaceful, were attacked.^[14]

In 2023, before the 44th anniversary of the revolution, anti-regime hackers disrupted the broadcast of Telewebion, a web streaming service affiliated with Iranian state TV, for 19 seconds.^[15] President Ebrahim Raisi's televised address was also interrupted by a 44-second video featuring chants of "Death to Khamenei" and "Death to the Islamic Republic," which was shared on Twitter by the hacker group Edalate Ali ("The Justice of Ali").^[16][17] In the video, the group also called for mass participation in the nationwide protests and urged Iranians to withdraw their money from official banks.^[16][17][18] The death of Mahsa Amini, who was killed in 2022 for allegedly wearing an improper hijab, inspired renewed widespread demonstrations.^[19] According to Hrana rights group, 19,763 Iranians were arrested and at least 528 were killed during the protests, 71 of whom were minors.^[20][21][22] Additional anti-regime mass demonstrations took place worldwide, as thousands of Iranian diaspora, many of whose relatives were victims of the regime, protested in their countries of residence.^[23] In Paris, protesters chanted the slogan "Woman. Life. Freedom." In addition to other anti-regime slogans, many protestors abroad urged the European Union to list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terror organization and to cut relations with the Islamic government.^[24] In Los Angeles, thousands of protestors, in solidarity with Iranian civilians, called for representatives to support human rights in Iran and for the end of a theocracy.^[25] In Ottawa, approximately 300 people gathered in front of the National Gallery of Canada and chanted “Democracy for Iran!"^[26] The demonstrators further called for other countries to follow Canada in designating the IRGC as a terror organization and to refrain from negotiations with it.^[26] Canadian officials expressed support for the demonstrators.^[26]

In 2024, the 45th anniversary of the regime, there was no call to action which provoked protests; even so, many Iranians across Tehran engaged spontaneously in "home-chanting," yelling "Death to the Dictator" from their homes during the regime's fireworks display.^[27] Additionally, many Iranians boycotted the official rallies commemorating the event, in stark contrast to previous years.^[28] Various videos and photos circulating on social media showed meager attendance at anniversary events and venues, despite the government's efforts to appeal to the public by softening the enforcement of the compulsory hijab^[28] and providing recreational activities on the streets.^[29] State media outlets attempted to conceal the low turnout and described the celebrations as "epic."^[30] As in 2023, protests were held worldwide in 2024; Iranians abroad gathered in Belgium, Sweden, Australia, Germany, France, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Denmark to demand justice and action against human rights violations in Iran.^[29]

In 2025, the 46th anniversary of the revolution, there were a widespread eruption of anti-regime protests across Iran. In contempt of the regime's urges to cry "Allah-o Akbar" (God is great) from the rooftops, Iranian citizens instead openly chanted "Death to the Dictator" and “Death to Khamenei” in coordinated protests and demonstrations from homes and rooftops in multiple cities.^[31] As in 2024, anti-regime chants by many residents in Tehran and other major cities were a response to the government-sponsored fireworks and light displays.^[31] According to the Telegraph, "the public display of anger towards the Tehran regime comes amid escalating tensions within Iran, marked by increasing economic hardship, international isolation, and growing public dissatisfaction with the government's policies, particularly regarding personal freedoms and human rights".^[31] In February 2025, protest videos on X circulated during the anniversary of the revolution, showing citizens in Dehdasht crying chants translated as "Death to the dictator," "Death to the Republic of Executions” and "This year is year of blood, Khamenei falls with a thud." as well as "This year is the year of blood, Seyyed Ali will be overthrown" in western Kermanshah.^[32] As a response, security forces of the Islamic Republic dispersed the demonstrations and reportedly fired shotgun pellets and tear gas at the protesters.^[33] As of 13 February 2025, at least 10 protesters were arrested.^[32] Although media aligned with the regime suggest that the cause for the protests is "tribal conflicts", evidence from the demonstrations themselves reveals them to be focused on economic issues, including record-high inflation and price increase for basic items, recurring power outages, and extreme air pollution from industrial centers and power plants, as well as the regime's increased use of capital punishment.^[32]

• Timeline of the Iranian revolution
• Fajr decade