MNA � Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said 57 years ago people shouted "we cannot breathe", but it was Imam Khomeini, the late founder of the Islamic Republic, who forced the US to get its knee off the oppressed people�s neck.

In a tweet on Thursday, on the 57th anniversary of an uprising against the former US-backed Pahlavi regime, Ghalibaf referred to the recent murder of a black citizen who choked to death under the knees of a US cop, saying that 57 years ago, Imam Khomeini forced the US to get its knee off the oppressed people�s neck when people shouted that they could not breathe.

Ghalibaf added, Imam Khomeini showed the world that it is possible to remove the US� knee away from the neck of the oppressed people and slapped them in their face so that they forget occupation, coup and plunder.

In recent days, American people have been protesting the death of George Floyd - a black man who was unarmed and died at the hands of police putting pressure on his throat until he choked.

Earlier, the Iranian Foreign Ministry had said, "Iran regrets the tragic murder of black Americans, denounces deadly racial profiling in the United States & urges the authorities to do justice for every case."

"The protestors' voice must be heard. In doing so, suppressing the suffering of Americans & #PressFreedom must URGENTLY be stopped," it added.

On Thursday, June 5, Iranians marked the 57th anniversary of an uprising against the former US-backed Pahlavi regime. The uprising in 1963, during which many Iranians lost their lives, was one of the main events that culminated in the Islamic Revolution some 15 years later.