Story highlights Iranians mark the anniversary of the US embassy takeover in 1979

Many taking part in the rally chanted anti-US and anti-Israel slogans

(CNN) Iran commemorated the 38th anniversary of the US Embassy takeover Saturday with a potent missile display as thousands of demonstrators gathered in Tehran to mark the event that triggered the hostage crisis and sparked the decades-old rift in US-Iranian relations.

On November 4, 1979, Iranian student revolutionaries climbed over the walls of the US Embassy in Tehran and seized dozens of Americans, holding them hostage for 444 days

The former embassy compound is known locally as the "den of espionage," and protests take place in front of it annually.

One of Iran's most powerful missiles, the Qadr, was prominently featured Saturday, along with anti-US and anti-Israel signs and chanting.

Iranian women carry placards during a protest Saturday outside the former US Embassy in Tehran.

The medium-range missile is liquid-fueled, with a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles), according to the semiofficial Fars News agency, which says it can reach as far as Israel.

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