Tens of thousands of Iranians, shouting "Death to America", gathered in Tehran to mark the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution amid tight security and expected opposition protests.
State television showed footage of men, women and children carrying banners reading "Death to America! Death to Israel!" as they headed to Azadi (Freedom) Square in southwest Tehran to mark the day the US-backed shah was toppled in 1979.
Opposition website Rahesabz reported that thousands of anti-government protesters were also in the streets of Tehran. There was no independent confirmation as the foreign media has been banned from covering street marches.
An AFP reporter among a group of journalists taken by Iranian officials to cover a speech at Azadi Square by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said security forces had been massively deployed in the area.
Celebrations to mark the day the shah have been traditionally festive, and an opportunity for Iranian leaders to showcase popular support for the establishment.
Protesters to hit the streets
But this year, opposition groups -- led by some of the founding fathers of the Islamic republic -- look set to hijack the national day as they continue to reject the legitimacy Ahmadinejad's government.
If the opposition does succeed in mounting protests, this would be highly symbolic given the anniversary's historic significance.
The elite Revolutionary Guards and police have warned they will crack down heavily on any protests which, since they first erupted last June, have threatened the very pillars of the Islamic regime and split the senior clergy.
Stern warnings issued
"If anyone wants to disrupt this glorious ceremony, they will be confronted by people and we too are fully prepared," police chief Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam warned on Wednesday.
Several people who had been planning to protest are already in custody, he added.
Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election last June plunged the Islamic republic into one of its worst ever political crises, with the opposition refusing to take the fight off the streets despite often deadly crackdowns.
Most recently, eight people were killed on the Shiite holy day of Ashura on December 27 and hundreds were jailed as authorities battled protesters they accuse of seeking to topple the regime and siding with Iran's enemies abroad.
Ayatollah calls for unity
Iran's all-powerful supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says he wants Thursday's celebration to be a show of unity and to deliver a stunning "punch" to "arrogant" powers.
Khamenei -- the commander-in-chief who has the final say on all key national issues -- has openly sided with Ahmadinejad, dismissed allegations of fraud in the election, blamed the West for the post-poll unrest and slammed continuing dissent as "sedition".
The opposition is led by former stalwarts of the Islamic republic, including one-time premier Mir Hossein Mousavi, who says the 1979 revolution failed because the shah-era "roots of tyranny and dictatorship" still exist.
Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, the other main opposition leader, have urged a mass turnout by their supporters in what is known as the "Green Movement," but also urged them to show restraint.
"I feel we have to participate while maintaining the collective spirit as well as our identity and leave an impression," Mousavi said on Monday. "Anger and bitterness should not take our control away."
Karroubi's son Hossein told AFP that his father would be participating in the annual march on Thursday but his "mother was contacted and told not to allow him (Karroubi) to go out.".
The deadly Ashura protests saw Mousavi's nephew shot dead, and in January Iran executed two men for seeking to overthrow the regime and has said nine protesters were on death row on similar charges.
Internet connections disrupted
Ahead of the anniversary, Internet connections slowed to a crawl and text messaging services were disrupted, with the government blaming technical glitches.
Google said Iranian users were having trouble accessing Gmail following a report that Iran's telecoms agency had suspended the Internet giant's email service.
The United States meanwhile imposed new sanctions on Iran's all-powerful Revolutionary Guard, ordering a freeze on assets of an individual and four firms linked to the unit.
State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said the US is targeting the Guards for their role in Iran's controversial nuclear and missile programmes, alleged links to terrorism and crackdown on anti-government protests.
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