Police have stepped up their presence around the Iranian embassy and consulate in London after the country's flag was torn down during anti-regime protests.
Videos showed a demonstrator climbing up to a balcony above the main door of the embassy and removing the flag of the Islamic Republic. He was later seen waving the flag of the Iranian monarchy above his head.
The tri-coloured flag, with a lion and sun, surrounded by a wreath and crown, was a ceremonial one used in Iran before the revolution in the late 1970s. The embassy later posted a picture on its X account of the flag back in place.
More than 540 people have been killed in the wave of protests that has engulfed Iran, said the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. That toll includes 483 protesters and 47 members of the security forces. The agency added that more than 10,600 people have been arrested.
Met Police have increased security around the London embassy, with vans and officers positioned at its entrances to the street and outside the main door. Barriers are also in place.
More police vans were stationed on the road next to the nearby embassies of Thailand and Tunisia, with a group of officers standing in the main road. Two armed diplomatic protection officers were stationed discretely around the corner.
About half a dozen protesters gathered in the rain on Monday morning and were kept behind a barrier on the opposite side of the road, next to Hyde Park in the upmarket Knightsbridge area. One of the protesters held a megaphone and led anti-regime chanting in a mixture of English and Farsi.
Later as crowds grew, Reform leader Nigel Farage and the party's new recruit, former Conservative minister Nadhim Zahawi, who was born in Baghdad, attended the embassy. Mr Farage has backed calls for the IRGC to be sanctioned by the UK, and said he was critical of the decision to end the JCPOA deal as Iran had spent the money backing groups such as Hezbollah.
Outside the embassy, Fereshteh, who asked for her surname to be withheld, told The National that she was at the protest on Saturday when the “ugly flag, which is not our flag” was taken down. “I was happy, very happy, in fact very excited. We don’t recognise the current government, who are terrorists,” she said.
She described herself as a supporter of Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran's late Shah, who was deposed in the 1979 revolution. “I’m here to support the revolution in Iran and to support my people to make them free because they are out in the street," she said. "We are here at the embassy because at any moment we can take our home back.”
Fereshteh said she was unable to contact her family in Iran, which she demonstrated by attempting to call her cousin, a heart surgeon. “The people of Iran need the world’s help. The regime is holding the country and the people hostage," she added.
There was also enhanced security outside Iran’s nearby consulate, which was the scene of protests on Saturday. A group of officers stood outside on the pavement as people went in and out of the building.
One resident told The National that they "heard shouting coming from there but that’s quite normal – there’s usually some sort of protest there".
The Met said two arrests had been made, one for aggravated trespass and assault on an emergency worker and one for aggravated trespass. Officers are also looking for another person for trespass.
An altercation outside the embassy in June resulted in seven Iranians being charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent. They are due to stand trial in May next year.
Two men involved in an altercation outside the embassy, aged 37 and 39, were taken to hospital with serious injuries. The Met has previously said the incident is thought to have involved people who are “pro and anti-Iranian regime”.
Met commissioner Mark Rowley said “world events always play out in London. I can understand why that is, but we’ll see what happens in Iran”.
“We are attuned to the threat that Iran has posed for the last two years and we’re also dealing with protests outside the embassy," he told LBC radio.
Meanwhile, Downing Street avoided questions on whether Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps should be proscribed as a terrorist group. Former MI6 chief Richard Moore told the BBC on Monday that such a move would not have “any practical impact” and would only “make us feel better about ourselves".
On the issue of British citizens currently detained in Iranian jails, the UK government “continues to engage diplomatically on that front”, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s official spokesman told The National. The Iranian embassy has been approached for comment.
