Ten-Day Dawn celebrations have got off to an ebullient start in Iran, marking the run-up to the 42nd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, which overthrew the the US-backed Pahlavi regime.

The annual festivities started on Sunday morning, commemorating the moment the late founder of the Islamic Republic,�Imam Khomeini,�disembarked from�an Air France jumbo jet to a massive welcome back home, ending his exile in Paris.

Millions of Iranians thronged Tehran�s Mehrabad Airport to catch a glimpse of the return from almost 15 years of exile of the iconoclast at whose impending arrival the British-installed and US-backed Shah had fled the country.

The celebrations will culminate on February 10, marking�the resounding triumph of the Islamic Revolution which freed Iran�from domestic despotism and foreign hegemony.� The victory came under the astute leadership of Imam Khomeini who ended 2,500 years of monarchy in Iran.

On Saturday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution�Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei visited Imam Khomeini�s mausoleum in southern Tehran to pay homage to the founder of the Islamic Republic.