Iranians mark 2009 rallies in support of Islamic establishment

Iranians across the country have attended ceremonies to mark the sixth anniversary of the December 30 gatherings during which people demonstrated faith in the Islamic Republic despite negative propaganda campaign in the wake of the post-presidential election unrest six years ago.

People in various cities commemorated the event on Wednesday in remembrance of the year 2009 when the country was plunged in foreign-led unrest following a presidential election in June the same year.

On Tuesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani described the December 30 event, which falls on Dey 9 on the Persian calendar, as the day of the Iranian nation’s support for the rule of law and the institution of Velayat-e-Faqih (guardianship of the jurisconsult).

President Rouhani said that Iran “owes its security today to the plans and foresight of the Leader" of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Ayatollah Khamenei, said on Wednesday that the December 30 rallies showed the Iranians’ firm support for the Islamic establishment and the leadership of the country.

Velayati said that the Iranian nation is fully ready to counter the global “arrogance” and foil the plots hatched by “ill-wishers."

On December 30, 2009, millions of people took to the streets in Tehran and several other major cities and condemned the foreign-orchestrated unrest in the wake of the presidential election.

Ayatollah Khamenei said at the time that the protests and the unrest were organized and planned by the outside powers.

Unrest broke out in the country after losing presidential candidates Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Musavi claimed without providing any piece of evidence that the election was rigged. The pair has been placed under house arrest on charges of instigating protests and harming national security by spreading rumors.

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