Death to America

Death to America (Persian: مرگ بر آمریکا‎‎ Marg bar Âmrikâ) (Arabic: الموت لأمريكا‎‎ Almawt Lamrikā) is an anti-American political slogan and chant which has been in use in Iran since the inception of the Iranian Revolution in 1979.Ayatollah Khomeini, the first leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, popularized the term. He opposed the chant for radio and television, but not for protests and other occasions.

The literal meaning of the phrase is "Death to America". In most official Iranian translations, the phrase is translated into English as the less offensive "Down with America". The chant "Death to America" has come to be employed by various anti-American groups and protesters worldwide. Another similar slogan formerly used in Iran was "Death to the Soviet Union". In a speech to university students, Khamenei interpreted the slogan as "death to the U.S.'s policies, death to arrogance".

Following the fall of the pro-American Pahlavi dynasty in early 1979, Iranian protesters regularly shouted "Death to America" and "Death to the Shah" outside the U.S. embassy in Tehran, including the day the embassy was seized on November 4, 1979, which commenced the Iran hostage crisis. Throughout the crisis, Iranians surrounding the embassy chanted "Death to America" and "Death to Carter." When Iran released the remaining 52 American hostages on January 20, 1981, they were led through a gauntlet of students forming parallel lines that shouted "Death to America" as they boarded the airplane that would fly them out of Tehran.

Throughout the existence of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the slogan has formed a pillar of its revolutionary values. It is regularly chanted at Friday prayers and other public events, which is often accompanied by a burning of the flag of the United States. These events include the November 4 anniversary of the U.S. embassy seizure, which Iranian leaders declared in 1987 as a national holiday, called "Death to America Day." State-sponsored murals that feature the slogan "Death to America" are common in Iranian cities, particularly Tehran.

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