An Iranian lawmaker on Wednesday hailed the victory of Zohran Mamdani, a Muslim Democratic candidate in a US mayoral election, as proof of the strength of the slogan “Death to Israel,” the state broadcaster reported.
The remarks were made by Abolghasem Jarrareh, a Tehran-based parliamentarian, who led colleagues in shouting the slogan in the parliamentary session.
Mamdani has been critical of the Israeli policies toward Palestinians.
Almost half a century after young revolutionaries stormed the US embassy in Tehran, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei once again defended the move, leaning into the original break between the arch-foes and all but ruling out rapprochement.
Speaking Monday on the anniversary of the November 4, 1979 seizure of the embassy, Khamenei described Iran’s enmity toward the United States as “existential rather than tactical,” a confrontation that cannot be resolved.
“The inherently arrogant nature of the US accepts nothing but submission,” he said. “Every US president desired this. Some concealed it, others expressed it openly. The current president has made it explicit, revealing the US’s true nature.”
For Khamenei, the threat lies not in sanctions or military pressure but in ideological erosion. America’s demands—whether over nuclear activities, missiles, or regional policy—are, to him, attempts to take away what defines the system that has become synonymous with his name.
'Victory day’
Khamenei tried to illustrate this point with both history and scripture.
“Our problem with the United States began on August 19, 1953, not November 4, 1979,” he said, invoking the CIA-backed coup against Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh seventy-odd years ago.
On the latter date, he echoed his mentor and predecessor Ruhollah Khomeini in calling it “a day of honor and victory,” doubling down on a bet many insiders now publicly regret.
Even senior conservatives like Ali Akbar Nateq Nouri, once chief inspector of the Supreme Leader’s office, have called the storming of the US embassy “a big mistake,” admitting that the ensuing hostage crisis was “the starting point” of many of Iran’s troubles.
But Khamenei is adamant that repentance equals betrayal. History, as he tells it, shows that every concession to the United States only invites more demands—a conviction hardened through experience.
Impossible conditions
When Donald Trump first took office, he declared that all he wanted from Tehran was a pledge not to pursue nuclear weapons, signaling he had no quarrel with Iran’s theocratic order.
But midway through indirect negotiations in the spring of 2025, his stance shifted toward a more conventional hardline: curbs on missiles, abandonment of regional allies, and most recently, recognition of Israel.
Khamenei’s Monday speech contained a direct reply: “If they stop supporting the Zionist regime, remove military bases from the region and cease interfering in regional affairs, these matters could potentially be reviewed,” he said, referring to calls for engagement with the United States.
The conditions were impossible by design—a reminder that what Washington calls diplomacy, he sees as ideological surrender.
‘Unconditional surrender’
Even when hinting at pragmatic concessions such as curbing enrichment, he was dismissive: “This isn’t something foreseeable for now, nor for the near future.”
Trump’s post on Truth Social in mid-October, calling for Iran’s “unconditional surrender” just days into Israel’s war on Iran, may have been the epitome of what Khamenei always asserted: that America seeks capitulation, not coexistence.
His answer was unambiguous: “Expecting the Iranian nation to submit, given its level of capabilities, wealth, intellectual and spiritual background and its vigilant and motivated youth, is meaningless.”
Khamenei shows no sign of repentance or retreat. To him, the struggle with the United States is not about sanctions or missiles but about identity. In his twilight, he seems as convinced as ever that the system must endure as it is, or not at all.
The United States on Tuesday condemned Iran’s record on international law and human rights on the 46th anniversary of the 1979 takeover of its embassy in Tehran.
“The attack and seizure of the United States Embassy in Tehran marked the beginning of countless violations of international law and the Iranian regime’s refusal to accept diplomacy,” the State Department’s Persian-language account said in a post on X.
On November 4, 1979, pro-Islamic Republic students stormed the US embassy in Tehran and took 52 American diplomats and staff hostage for 444 days, leading to the rupture of diplomatic ties between Tehran and Washington that have never been restored.
The State Department’s post said the embassy takeover began “a long pattern of ignoring the rights of other nations and interfering in their affairs,” reflecting “the same disregard for fundamental rights and freedoms that today defines this regime’s behavior toward its own people.”
It added that the United States “remains determined to promote diplomacy, accountability, and the aspirations of the Iranian people for a brighter future.”
The statement comes as Iran marked the anniversary with state-organized rallies across the country earlier in the day.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei doubled down on his hard line backing the takeover in a speech on Monday.
"The people took to the streets, and part of these demonstrations and popular movements, with student participation, led to the seizure of the US embassy,” he said. "The US embassy was the center of conspiracies and plotting to destroy the Islamic Revolution.”
Crowds gathered across the country waving national flags and portraits of Iran’s leaders to observe what officials call the National Day of Fighting Global Arrogance.
In Tehran, effigies of US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu being hanged were displayed during the state sponsored rally.
Some critics in Iran's diaspora are expressing skepticism about Zohran Mamdani, the Muslim and self-described Democratic socialist frontrunner in elections for New York City mayor on Tuesday, even likening his populist vision to Ayatollah Khomeini's 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Mamdani, a 34-year-old state assemblyman, won the Democratic primary in June, edging out former New York governor Andrew Cuomo.
Born in Uganda to parents of Indian descent, he was raised in New York and has championed affordability in a campaign which has belatedly earned the praise of some Democratic leaders. If elected he would be New York's first Muslim mayor.
His platform emphasizes affordable housing, police reform and Palestinian rights, earning him strong backing from progressives and Muslim organizations.
But his left-leaning and pro-Palestine positions have unsettled some Iranian exiles who see echoes of populist and millenarian promises they say marred their homeland in the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
"Modern Iranian history flashes a bright caution sign as America’s far left and Islamist movements converge in our cities and universities," Andrew Ghalili, senior analyst at advocacy group the National Union for Democracy in Iran, wrote in The New York Sun.
"Iranians have seen this movie before, and the American left are playing their role perfectly. It’s only a matter of time until the tragic third act," he added.
Mamdani was criticized for using the phrase "globalize the intifada" during the mayoral primary, a phrase referring to a Palestinian uprising years after campus protests against Israel's incursion into Gaza beginning at Columbia University in New York spread nationwide and inflamed debates about free speech and anti-Semitism.
He has since distanced himself from the slogan and has campaigned with representatives of many faiths, including Jewish and Muslim leaders.
Many first and second-generation immigrants from Iran are conservative and skeptical of the role of Islam in public life, holding up the nearly 50-year-old Islamic theocracy in their homeland as a cautionary tale.
Mamdani has hit out at what he has called Islamophobia in the wake of the 9/11 attacks but has not cited Islam as a basis of his political outlook.
University of Illinois at Chicago PhD candidate and commentator Sana Ebrahimi criticized Mamdani’s promises of free services on X, comparing them to Ayatollah Khomeini’s unfulfilled pledges.
“Every time I see those curated photos of Zohran Mamdani, I am reminded of Khomeini as a ‘humble servant of the people,'" she wrote. "Four and a half decades later, Iran is destroyed and its currency has been gutted. Grand promises are easy and that is Zohran’s game plan."
On the campaign trail, Mamdani said his aunt feared riding the New York subway in the wake of the 9/11 of attack for fear of being persecuted for her Islamic veil.
Iranian dissident Masih Alinejad, who resides in New York City, urged Mamdani to protect the rights of all citizens, including those who reject the hijab.
She was speaking after a US court in Manhattan last month convicted two men of attempting to kill her in a plot backed by Tehran.
“(Mamdani) said his aunt removed her hijab in New York because she didn’t feel safe. Well, I don’t feel safe in New York because the real killers, backed by Iran - the top sponsor of Hamas - came after me twice here simply for saying no to hijab. So yes, Mayor, step up and protect this city from terrorist organizations,” she posted on X.
In a podcast appearance with conservative New York Times columnist Bret Stephens, Alinejad appeared to suggest Mamdani was a "radical" whose rise coincided with more public displays of Islamic and pro-Iranian activity in America.
"Let's talk about my concern in the West, in America, in New York City, the rise of radicals," she said. "There are more than 300 mosques in New York. What is it about this fantasizing with the radicals, saying we want to pray in the streets. So let's just talk about Mamdani."
Polls show Mamdani leading rivals Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa as voters weigh issues such as housing and crime.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has approved a wide-ranging set of national policies aimed at strengthening society including a new Hebrew language TV channel to counter so-called Zionist propaganda.
The plan calls for the establishment of a new international television network broadcasting in Hebrew under the aegis of state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).
The move intends to “respond to the media propaganda of the Zionist regime and its affiliates.”
According to the IRNA news agency, the measures were ratified by the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution in September and formally signed into effect by Pezeshkian in his capacity as the council’s chairman.
The new framework assigns responsibilities across multiple ministries and state institutions, from education and culture to health and national broadcasting.
It aims to strengthen national cohesion, promote “social resilience,” and expand coordination among universities, research institutions and the defense sector, according to the decree.
Other provisions include initiatives to improve public morale, support families affected by recent conflict, and promote Iranian cultural and scientific achievements.
The document also highlights investment in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, aerospace, and cybersecurity as part of Iran’s defense and innovation strategy.
Government bodies are instructed to preserve “unity and national cohesion” in the way major events are portrayed in the media, including the annual Quds Day and the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, IRIB and the Friday Prayer policy council are tasked with preventing “conflicting narratives” in public discourse, particularly concerning the recent 12-day war with Israel.
It also calls on the judiciary to prepare a “media annex” outlining penalties for individuals accused of espionage or treason and on the National Cyberspace Center to work with the courts to counter “those spreading fear and despair” online.
Religious institutions, mosques and volunteer networks such as the Basij are also expected to take part in fostering what the document calls a “spirit of national solidarity, empathy and resistance to oppression.”
State television is directed to feature more academic experts and cultural figures to explain key national events and “analyze scientifically the 12-day defensive war,” which officials have framed as a symbol of national unity and deterrence capability.
Iran is supplying Shi’ite militias in Iraq with more advanced weapons in preparation for a possible new round of fighting with Israel, Israeli media reported on Tuesday.
Citing Iraqi sources familiar with the matter, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan Reshet Bet said Tehran had stepped up arms transfers to allied groups in Iraq following losses suffered by Iran-backed factions in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza.
The report said Iran appeared to be shifting the focus of its regional military influence toward Iraqi militias.
The station said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force was training fighters for potential coordinated ground and air operations, while the groups themselves feared strikes from Israel and the United States.
The sources said the militias take orders from Tehran more than from Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who has sought to keep his country out of regional escalation.
Reports in Israeli outlets including Walla and The Jerusalem Post last week said the Israel Defense Forces and intelligence agencies were preparing for possible attacks by Iranian-aligned groups in Iraq.
The Post said Tehran was investing resources to strengthen these militias and establish what it called “terror infrastructure” capable of striking Israel when ordered.
Iranian Quds Force commander Esmail Ghaani visited Iraq late in October for talks with senior militia leaders.
Al-Sudani said earlier this year that his government had blocked dozens of attempted attacks by Iran-backed groups during the 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel in June.
In an interview with the Associated Press, he said Baghdad must carefully balance relations with both Washington and Tehran.