TEHRAN, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Iranian demonstrators marking the 33rd anniversary of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran issued a statement calling for respect for their revolutionary principles.
Iranian demonstrators used a day reserved for Friday prayers to mark the anniversary of the takeover of the U.S. Embassy. Demonstrations at the embassy Nov. 4, 1979, led to a hostage crisis that lasted more than 400 days.
Iranian state-funded broadcaster Press TV reports demonstrators taking part in the event called on the international community to make it a crime to insult the Prophet Mohammed.
"We call on international organizations and community, including the United Nations, to take effective and practical measures to include respect for the divine religions and prophets in the international charters and regulations, criminalize any insult to them and prosecute the criminals," the statement read.
Iran has presidential elections next year to replace Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He can't run because of term limits.
A rift has emerged between Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The president's media adviser, Ali Akbar Javanfekr, was arrested this year on charges of publishing remarks viewed as contrary to Islamic principles.
