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The protest commemorates the Embassy raid by Iranian students in 1979 and the seizure of 54 US diplomats and citizens – an act that broke relations between the two countries just a few months after Iran removed it from office the Shah backed by the United States and has established itself as an Islamic Republic.
Near the protest platform where the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Mohamad Ali Jafari is about to deliver a speech, six men are playing hostage scenes. All but one are covered with silver paint. An actor wearing police glasses pulls his gun and points it to a man painted in gold. The portrait of US President Donald Trump is stuck to his face.
"I think Donald Trump is crazy and that he can not do anything to us because we have Imam Khamenei and that he is the best person I have ever seen in my life ", says 15-year-old Mobina Jari in chador costume, referring to the country's top leader, Ali Khamenei.
"People are gathering here to confront America," said Mullah Mohammed, who refuses to reveal his full name for security reasons. The blue-eyed cleric stands with his back to the wall, as protesters carried banners and Trump's effigies – portrayed as a woman, a baby and, in one case, a turkey – parading. "The American people are different from the state.The Great Satan is the government.
"It is true that (sanctions) are putting pressure on our innocent people, but our people are so resistant that they will overcome these hardships."
Trump said he hoped that this choking action would force the Iranian government to renegotiate its 2015 nuclear deal, relieving Iran of international sanctions in exchange for stopping the enrichment of Iran. Uranium from the country.
Despite repeated US State Department certifications that Iran was complying with the end of the agreement, the Trump government withdrew from the agreement in May 2015. Trump described it as a "horrible, one-sided agreement that should never have been reached."
This decision caused the exodus of international companies, including the European giants Total and Airbus, from Iran. The value of the Iranian riyal has fallen by about 70% and inflation has exploded.
Although foreign to the sanctions, Iran will face slightly different penalties this time. Unlike the 2012 multilateral sanctions that targeted the administration of former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on his uranium enrichment program, Trump's goals are more ambiguous.
"Back (in 2012), an agreement was on the horizon and there was a ramp to save all the faces," said Mohammed Ali Shabani, Iran Pulse's editor on the website of the Al-Monitor media.
"This time, the agreement reached has been repealed and the US demands go far beyond the nuclear issue to actually demand a total surrender of Iran," Shabani said.
In recent months, Trump said he would be ready to discuss with Iranian leaders "at any time." A renegotiation of the agreement, he said, would allow for a comprehensive attack on Iran's foreign policy, particularly by supporting alternative groups, such as Hezbollah. in Lebanon and the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Iranian leaders have so far rejected Trump's overtures. Supreme Leader Khamenei has publicly banned "any negotiations" with the United States.
"Nobody wants to negotiate with Trump," said Mullah Mohammed. "It's useless to negotiate with Trump because he's really crazy and we can not trust him, even Europeans do not trust Trump."
According to some analysts, a renegotiation of the nuclear deal would be an admission of failure even though Iran continues to respect its share of the deal.
"I think a lot of people understand that the Rouhani government is not responsible (sanctions) or that it has a small share," said Iranian analyst Hamid Mousavi. "Iran has remained in the nuclear deal even after the United States has decided to withdraw, so many Iranians do not really see how to solve this problem and consider that Donald Trump is responsible . "
In the absence of a clear response to sanctions, Iran seems willing to weather the storm by anticipating an imminent change in US leadership. "It's hard to see ordinary Iranians as well as leaders be willing to give up all their foreign policy to the benefit of a US president who could be gone in two years," Shabani said.
Meanwhile, "the resistance economy" – a term invented by Khamenei – sees a resurgence. The idea sees Iranian livelihood as a cornerstone of economic policy, allowing it to ignore Western demands. Iranian leaders have resumed the term in recent months.
A changing political landscape
But despite widespread disregard for Trump's policies, popular support for the Iranian government also seems to be brightening. Government sponsored rallies are dwindling, and the hard base seems to include an increasingly older crowd, a demographic group parallel to the extremely young population of Iran.
In January, Iran was shaken by youth protests across the country. Protesters were largely working-class, a group generally considered the foundation of the government's conservative base. Many have demolished posters of Iranian clerical leaders. The demonstrations were repressed in a few weeks but dealt a blow to the government's confidence in its broad support.
Women demonstrating against the mandatory headscarf in Iran have appeared on city squares almost every month this year, defying a police sweep of the protesters. During Friday prayers at the University of Tehran, where ayatollahs and government military leaders deliver weekly sermons to their supporters, the crowd has grown smaller and older over the years. years.
A woman from Tajrish Square, a relatively prosperous place in Tehran, goes to a CNN team who volunteers to speak in front of a camera. She says she predicts that the sanctions-driven economy will remain in a hopeless situation "as long as the mullahs are in power," referring to the ruling clergy in Iran.
"They have to leave, believe me, because we have no freedom, we do not have work to do for our educated people," said the woman, who only asked to be identified as "a citizen Iranian".
Nearby, Samin Dodangeh, 26, prefers to roll her hat-shaped scarf, barely bypassing the headstand rule. She works as a waitress in a cafe while pursuing a Master of Fine Arts at the University of Tehran.
But since Trump announced its withdrawal from the nuclear deal, the materials it needs have become unaffordable. "I can not paint anymore," she says.
The situation, she says, has worsened, and she adds that she would support the acceptance of Trump's invitation to talks.
"People will be happy if there are negotiations, why would not they be happy?" said Dodangeh. "Listen, I do not have the means to rent a place, I can not afford to buy a place, I can not afford to buy any more accessories. I can not afford to buy, I have to work more and I can pay less It's just sad. "
Housewives Maryam Golestani, 44, and Maryam Karami, 48, agree that the negotiations offer a way out of their difficult situation.
"I am very very afraid of sanctions, I am especially worried about the younger generation and its jobs," Karami said.
"Governments should negotiate – real commitment and negotiations from both sides should exist, so that they are not forced to suffer," Golestani said.
