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On 25th Anniversary of U.S. Embassy Siege, Crowd Protests Nuclear Stance

President Bush may have triumphed at home, but he was burned in effigy here Wednesday. A noisy street demonstration marked the 25th anniversary of the student takeover of the U.S. Embassy, after which 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days. Unlike past commemorations, this one appeared to be focused on the future and the potential for a major showdown with the United States during a second Bush term. Bush and not Jimmy Carter, who was president during the 1979-81 hostage drama, was at the center of the protest. Three massive photographs of the president served as a backdrop for speakers who criticized U.S. foreign policy. The subtext throughout the protest was the escalating dispute between the United States and Iran over Tehran'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 banners waved by teenage schoolgirls in a crowd of thousands. The crowd gathered outside the sprawling former American compound, which is now a training center for Iraq's elite Revolutionary Guards military unit. The two-hour rally ended with a statement, read to roaring chants of "Allahu Akbar," or "God is great," that Iran would never give up its right to nuclear technology. [more]

Pictured above: Thousands of Iranians rally near the former U.S. Embassy to mark the anniversary of the siege that kept 52 Americans hostage for 444 days.
In pictures: Iran hostage crisis [more]