TEHRAN – Hundreds of thousands of Iranian students took to the streets across the country on Monday to mark the anniversary of the seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran, which occurred on November 4, 1979.

In Tehran, students converged on the former U.S. embassy, which is also called the Den of Spies.
The rallies were held on November 3 because that is the date of the anniversary in the Iranian calendar, which is shifted one day every four years from the date in the Western calendar because the leap years of the two calendars occur on different days.
Iran has been a focus of the foreign policy debate in the U.S. presidential election campaign. Barack Obama has said he is prepared to engage in direct talks.
Washington now says it is considering opening a U.S. interests section in Tehran, which would entail sending U.S. diplomats to the Islamic Republic for the first time in 30 years