Tens of thousands of Iranians poured into the streets of Tehran and other cities on Tuesday morning to commemorate the 41st anniversary of the Islamic revolution, against a backdrop of escalating tensions with the United States.

State TV showed video footage of rallies in at least half a dozen cities outside the capital, including Mashhad, Ahvaz and Kerman, with people holding signs that read, "Death to America" and "Death to Israel."

"Iran is looking forward to creating another epic," read the news ticker on state television, which called for a massive turnout.

The celebrations mark the day that Shiite cleric Khomeini returned from exile and ousted the shah's last government.

"Securing our country and our region depends on our unity, and participation in this rally is a symbol of this unity," Hadi Khamenei, brother of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on state television.

Missiles were put on display as part of the anniversary celebrations, according to the Tasnim news agency. Iran's state TV showed archival footage of missile launches and underground missile storage facilities as part of its anniversary coverage.

The missile program is not intended for attacks on neighboring countries, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday.

Iran almost got into a full-blown conflict with the United States last month after a U.S. drone strike killed top Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad on January 3, prompting Iran to retaliate with a missile barrage against a U.S. base in Iraq days later.

Tensions spiked between Iran and the United States after U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from a multilateral nuclear deal with Iran in 2018 and reimposed sanctions in a bid to pressure Tehran to negotiate over its ballistic missile program and ties with regional proxy groups.

(With inputs from Reuters, AFP)