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demonstration is the largest in years after calls by groups such as the powerful Revolutionary Guard for a major showing, including chants of "death to America" that some of Rouhani's backers have urged halted.
• The crowds also send a message to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who cautiously has backed Rouhani's overtures to the U.S. and efforts to end the impasse with the West over Tehran's nuclear program.
• Opponents of thawing relations with the U.S. say they will not back down, opening the prospect of deeper internal rifts and tensions that could put pressure on Khamenei to reconsider his backing of Rouhani's groundbreaking exchanges with the U.S.
• In September, Rouhani accepted from a call from U.S. President Barack Obama following the annual U.N. General Assembly in New York, where U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry held talks with Iran's foreign minister. Ties between the two countries were severed after the embassy siege, which began a hostage crisis with 52 people held for 444 days.
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• RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- Seeking to bridge multiple policy rifts with Saudi Arabia, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry hailed the kingdom's role as "the senior player" in the Middle East on Monday.
• Speaking to employees at the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh ahead of meetings with Saudi Arabia's king and foreign minister, Kerry said Saudi Arabia had assumed the Arab leadership mantle from Egypt, which is currently distracted by major domestic uncertainty. He said strengthening the U.S.-Saudi partnership is critical to Mideast security and stability and cementing tentative political transitions around the region.
• Saudi officials have expressed unhappiness with Washington's actions in Syria, its cautious warming with Iran and stance on Egypt's political turmoil, something Kerry has acknowledged in the past but played down as differences in "tactics" rather than in the end goal.
• "Right now, we have some very important things to talk about to make certain that the Saudi Arabian-U.S. relationship is on track, moving forward and doing the things that we need to accomplish," Kerry told the embassy staffers. He listed a number of key areas, including Syria, Egypt and Iran, but also mentioned the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and the broader effort to tamp down "nihilism" that leads to extremist violence.

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