Iran marks Islamic Republic Day

TEHRAN - Iran celebrated on Monday the 34th anniversary of the establishment of the Islamic Republic.

Thirty-four years ago, Iranians voted for the establishment of the Islamic Republic following the overthrow of Iran's US-backed Shah regime.

Back then and after the 1979 victory of Iranians' Islamic Revolution, in a referendum over 98.2 percent of the Iranians voted 'yes' to the establishment of an Islamic Republic system.

Addressing a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that April 1, Farvardin 12 in the Iranian calendar, marked the birthday of the Islamic Republic of Iran, according to a Press TV report Monday.

"On this day, the blood of thousands of martyears that prepared the ground for the establishment of the Islamic state bore fruit," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying.

Since then, the Iranians annually celebrate April 1 as the anniversary of the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran, referred to as the Islamic Republic Day.