TEHRAN -- Volunteer Basij forces in Tehran on Sunday gathered in front of the former U.S. Embassy, better known as the 'Den of Espionage', as their colleagues throughout other parts of Iran rallied to protest against America's "interventionist and arrogant policies".

Commander of the Islamic Revolution's Guards Corps (IRGC), Brigadier General Yahya Rahim Safavi, said that the U.S. sought to undermine Iran's security by invading Iraq.

"America is intending to endanger Iran's security by occupying Iraq and creating crisis and tensions in Tehran's relations with other countries of the world," he told 15,000 Basijis to the chants of "Death to America".

He urged the Basijis to maintain their defense preparedness and promote their cooperation with the public in establishing security in the country.

"Bajis must play a leading role in establishing enduring security in the country by boosting its power and defense readiness so that it could resist threats of America and the Zionist Israeli regime," he added.

On Saturday, hundreds of Basijis gathered at the late Imam khomeini's mausoleum to "renew allegiance with the founder of the Islamic Revolution".

Iran's former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani also Sunday heaved praise on volunteer Basij forces in the face of adverse "sloganeering" and urged the them to remain alert against enemies' plots to widen perceived gaps among the ranks of the nation.

"Basij forces must be careful since the satan has mobilized all its cavalry and infantry to exploit the existing situation," he told a seminar of the Basiji forces.

Rafsanjani, the chairman of the Expediency Council, which arbitrates in disputes between the Parliament and the supervisory Guardian Council, also slammed "those who chant slogans against Basij on the streets", IRNA reported.

"They make a mistake since they want to destroy the country's security," the cleric said, adding enemies of the Islamic Revolution were behind this instigation.

"They (the enemies) know that if Basij does not exist, insecurity will spread like leprosy in the society," he said.

"They are not only the enemy of the Basijis, but the whole nation and some people are ignorantly follow them by chanting slogans," Rafsanjani stated.

Rafsanjani called for all-out presence of Basijis in the country's affairs, saying, "We should see to the situation that state bodies could be benefited the most from these active and sincere forces".

"Now, the Basij has an important mission which is to have presence in all political, social and cultural developments of the nation," he said.

The former president said that security was key to the reconstruction of the country and Basijis' role must be seen in this context.

"Security is a need to attract investment and ... to resolve the unemployment problem," he said, adding "Those, who think they can resolve the unemployment problem without reconstruction, they are mistaken."

Students following the Path of Imam stormed the embassy in 1979 and held its staff hostage for 444 days, which prompted Washington to sever ties with Tehran and freeze Iranian assets in U.S. banks.

Diplomatic ties between the two countries have remained tense since then with little signs of a thaw.

Iran became outraged after U.S. Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, said in Washington recently that he saw signs of an early overthrow of the Islamic Republic by the Iranian people, or the government collapse.

"I suspect that during my lifetime we're going to see ... that the young people and the women and the people who believe in freedom will overthrow that cleric government and it will fall in some way of its own weight," Rumsfeld was quoted as saying during a radio call-in show.

Iran's former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani hit out at the U.S. defense secretary, saying Rumsfeld can take such an idea to hell.

"Mr. Secretary can take this hope into hell," he told worshipers at Friday prayers two weeks ago.

President Mohammad Khatami said in Madrid last month that the United States had been hindering his government's goodwill gestures to mend ties with Washington.

"Unfortunately in recent years, Iran's every goodwill step has been met with unhelpful response of the American side for a variety of reasons," he said during a joint news conference with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar.

"Iran's last goodwill was indicated during the Afghan crisis, and if there was no Iranian cooperation, the problem would not have been resolved with a low cost," Khatami said.

U.S. President George W. Bush raised heckles in the world after he lumped Iran into an `axis of evil' along with North Korea and Iraq, despite Tehran's cooperation in the ouster of Taleban in Afghanistan.

Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi has said that despite a slight change of tone in U.S. rhetoric toward Iran recently, the two countries remained at odds as before even with more distrust existing between them.