Iranians mark revolution with biggest anti-US rally in years

Tens of thousands of Iranians took to the streets of Tehran yesterday in protest at President George Bush and his State of the Union address, in which he said Iran formed part of an "axis of evil".

Mr Bush's comments appear to have galvanised opinion in Iran. These were the largest anti-American protests in Iran for several years – since the reform movement led by the President, Mohammad Khatami, took a share in power.

Mr Khatami himself, usually an exponent of rapprochement with the West, made one of the most hardline speeches of his political career.

"The reason we are under threat is that the United States, or some of its leaders, think they are masters of the world and they want the world to obey their policies," Mr Khatami said. "Wake up and change your policy on Iran," he warned Mr Bush.

Mr Khatami blamed American foreign policy for the 11 September attacks on New York and Washington, saying: "The American people have every right to ask their leaders how long should they pay the price for their faulty policies. What policies and what reasons caused the 11 September attacks?" The speech was interrupted by chants of "Death to America". The old revolutionary slogans, which the reformers tried to do away with only a couple of years ago, were back in force.

Only a few months ago, there was talk of an unprecedented opportunity for a thaw in relations between the United States and Iran. The Iranian government was quietly supporting the Americans' war against the Taliban, a bitter enemy of Iran.

But all that has evaporated since Israel accused Iran of supplying weapons to the Palestinian Authority, and Washington claimed that senior al-Qa'ida members were being allowed to escape from Afghanistan through Iran.

Mr Bush has accused Iran of exporting terror and seeking weapons of mass destruction. Yesterday, American officials said they believed Iran was only a few years away from developing nuclear weapons.

The rally was the annual climax of events commemorating the 1979 Islamic Revolution, in which the American-backed Shah was overthrown. In recent years it has become a relatively low-key affair. But not yesterday. Political leaders, both hardliners and reformers, including Mr Khatami, called for a massive turn-out, and national television broadcast appeals to attend.

However, those at the rally did not represent a full cross-section of Iranian society. The thousands of young people, who chanted pro-American slogans at protests after football matches last autumn, and criticised Mr Khatami for not pushing reforms along more quickly, were conspicuous by their absence.

Mr Bush said his country would use diplomacy with Iran for the time being. "America cannot do a damn thing," the crowds chanted.