Iran marks embassy siege 40th anniversary with anti-US fervour

With anti-American slogans and effigies mocking President Donald Trump, thousands rallied outside the former US embassy in Tehran on Monday to mark the 40th anniversary of the Iran hostage crisis.

Amid renewed tensions with Washington, state television showed rallies taking place in several other cities four decades after revolutionary students stormed the diplomatic mission -- an event that still strains ties today.

Replica missiles and the same type of air defence battery used to shoot down a US drone in June were put on display outside the former embassy turned museum in Tehran.

Iranians massed in front of the building carrying placards with slogans such as "Down with USA" and "Death to America", according to AFP journalists at the scene.

Rallies were also reported in the cities of Mashhad, Shiraz and Esfahan, among others, with the Mehr news agency estimating "millions of people" attended across the country, though it was not possible to verify that figure.

State TV aired segments of a Canadian documentary titled "The Fire Breather" showing Trump's controversial 2016 campaign trail highlights and biting comments about his past alongside images of the rallies.

On November 4, 1979, less than nine months after the toppling of Iran's American-backed shah, students overran the embassy complex to demand the United States hand over the ousted ruler after he was admitted to a US hospital.

It took 444 days for the crisis to end with the release of 52 Americans, but the US broke off diplomatic relations with Iran in 1980 and ties have been frozen ever since.

The 40th anniversary comes at a time of escalating tensions between Tehran and Washington and also the region.

"This may be the best time to say 'Down with the US'," said a state TV reporter at the rally.

Trump withdrew the United States from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers last year and reimposed punishing sanctions.

Tehran has hit back with three countermeasures since May reducing parts of its compliance with the deal.

The arch-foes came to the brink of a military confrontation in June when Iran downed a US Global Hawk drone and Trump ordered retaliatory strikes before cancelling them at the last minute.