A state-organized rally marking the 42nd anniversary of the takeover of the "den of espionage," a turning point in US-Iran relations that set off a decadeslong cycle of escalation between the two sides, took place Nov. 4 in an area outside the former US Embassy premises in Tehran.

The nationwide event was characterized by typical US flag-burning scenes and "Death to America" slogans on loudspeakers repeated by participants.

This year's "national day of the struggle against arrogance" was also themed on admiration for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which claimed only a day before to have "thwarted a US attempt to steal Iranian oil." The country's state TV released undated footage of the "anti-piracy" operation in which IRGC forces were shown in easy and full control of the vessel. Hours later, however, the narrative was brought under questioning by unnamed US officials. There was only an incident last week, they stated, in which two American destroyers were dispatched to "monitor" a Vietnamese-flagged tanker before it was confiscated by the IRGC and diverted into Iranian territorial waters.

While ambiguities persisted, Iran and the United States have not denied previous episodes at sea and in the Persian Gulf strategic oil pathway of Hormuz in particular. US forces even captured Iranian tankers destined for Venezuela as Iran's lifeline crude remains under severe American sanctions that were reinstated following Washington's departure from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018.