Media coverage of Feb 11 march

Arab language media covered the February 11 marches across Iran with some of them portraying the million-strong marchers as only 'thousands' in number.

The France 24 Arab channel in a distortion of reality said several thousand people have gathered in and around the Azadi square, north of Tehran.

The distortion of number was repeated by the AFP. The agency however said the Iranians celebrated the 35^th anniversary of their Islamic Revolution in a joint front against America.

The Bahraini-based al-Wasat daily covered the march in detail and among others quoted the President Hassan Rowhani as saying that those who threaten Iran would be frustrated.

Xinhua's report of the number was closer to reality. The Chinese news agency said hundreds of thousands of Iranians nationwide celebrated the revolutionary anniversary, carrying placards in support of the Islamic Republic.

In Israel, the Israeli channel 10 acknowledged that many of the present time revolutions have been reconciled to history while the Iranian revolution has managed to survive, according to the Lebanese-based al-Mayadin television.

The notion was also reflected by the Israeli channel 2 which said the diplomatic opening between Tehran and Washington has failed to prevent the burning of images of the US President Barack Obama in pro-revolutionary marches. The channel also pointed to anti-Israeli placards carried by the Iranian marchers.