Several hundred people gathered outside 10 Downing Street and the Iranian embassy in London in support of the anti-regime protests in Iran.
Mass demonstrations broke out across Iran on December 28, with citizens protesting over the collapse of the rial and soaring inflation, as well as dissatisfaction with the Islamic regime.
The Saturday gathering was organized by Stage of Freedom, a group of UK-based Iranian democratic activists.
The protesters could be heard chanting “Javid hah” (“Long live the shah”) and seen waving the Iranian flag, the Iranian imperial standard, and the British flag.
Many also held posters featuring Reza Pahlavi, the exiled Iranian crown prince.
Ahead of the protest, Stage of Freedom provided followers with options for new chants, including “Hear the Iranian people’s voice, Pahlavi is their choice” and “From Iran to the UK, Pahlavi is the only way.”
Present at the protest was Roger Macmillan, former director of security at Iran International. “Iranians are demanding freedom, dignity, and accountable leadership,” he wrote on X/Twitter. He also said the protesters made their negative views on the BBC clear.
Multiple Iranian individuals and diaspora groups have expressed disapproval at the media coverage of the protests.
One BBC title read, “Iran protesters break into government buildings as unrest continues.” The Iranian Diaspora Collective group reworded it to, “Iran protesters reclaim government building as nationwide regime rejection continues.”
“Dear journalists, use your words carefully in your coverage of Iran,” the group warned.
Further protests planned for Sunday
There was set to be a protest on Sunday outside the BBC Broadcasting House in London.
There was a huge Jewish turnout at the protest outside the embassy, with Israeli flags flown next to Iranian flags. The group Stop The Hate was present.
“At a time when the Iranian people are standing under pressure, repression, and bullets, Jews and the people of England stood beside us in London, not out of slogans, but out of conscience, humanity, and an understanding of the truth,” said journalist and advocate Niyak Ghorbani.
“We Iranians will not forget this support. We will not forget these friendships. These days, this solidarity, this courage in standing with truth are now written into the history of a nation.
Ghorbani also announced the protest outside the BBC Broadcasting House in London.
“We are Iranian-British. We stand for truth. We stand against the Islamic terrorist regime. We stand with the Iranian people and their right to freedom, dignity, and a future without fear,” said Ghorbani.
On Saturday, the Israeli embassy accused the BBC of obsessing over Gaza while “largely ignoring” the protests in Iran.