Crowds chant 'Death to America, death to Israel' as hundreds of thousands of Iranians mark the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution

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Crowds chanted 'Death to America, death to Israel' as hundreds of thousands of Iranians gathered at rallies to mark the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. 

Ceremonies were held across Iran today to observe the anniversary of the fall of the Shah and the triumph of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Shiite cleric who led the coup.

Iran's army declared its neutrality on February 11, 1979 which paved the way for the collapse of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi - and ousted the United States' most important ally in the Middle East.

Crowds gathered in the rain in Tehran Azadi, or Freedom Square, on Monday, waving Iranian flags and chanting 'Death to America' - a mantra that has been standard fare at anti-US rallies across Iran.

Chants of 'Death to Israel' and 'Death to Britain' followed, and demonstrators were caught on camera burning US and Israeli flags.

allies were held across the state to observe the anniversary of the fall of the Shah and the triumph of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Shiite cleric who led the revolution (Pictured, Iranians burn US flags in Tehran )

Men gather to burn American flags during a ceremony to mark the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution - which ousted the United States' most important ally in the Middle East

Large crowds were seen carrying Iranian flags and chanting 'Death to Israel, Death to America' - trademark chants of the revolution

An Iranian woman holds up a portrait of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as she makes the victory sign during a rally marking the 40th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Tehran

Yadollah Javani, a senior commander in Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, threatened to burn two of Israel's cities 'to the ground' if the US attacked Iran when speaking at a rally on Monday.

He said: 'The United States does not have the courage to shoot a single bullet at us despite all its defensive and military assets. But if they attack us, we will raze Tel Aviv and Haifa to the ground.' 

The 6-mile-long downtown Enghelab, or Revolution Street, in Tehran was decorated with huge balloons as loudspeakers blared out revolutionary and nationalist songs to encourage people to join the rallies.  

Soldiers, students and clerics flocked to the streets of cities and towns across Iran - many carrying portraits of Khomeini and Iran's current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

One banner read: 'Much to the dismay of America, the revolution has reached its 40th year.