'This time, we have hope'

Masses gather in London, Paris, Istanbul to support Iran’s anti-regime protests

‘My son is there, and I don’t know if he’s alive or not,’ says one protester in London, ‘We just want this murderous regime to leave Iran, that’s it!’

LONDON — Demonstrators rallied in London, Paris and Istanbul on Sunday in support of protests in Iran that have been countered with a deadly crackdown by the country’s security forces.

London demonstrations, initially in front of the Iranian embassy and later in front of the British prime minister’s residence, grew to several thousand as the day progressed.

“We want revolution, change the regime,” Afsi, a 38-year-old Iranian, who declined to give her last name, told AFP at the rally in front of Downing Street.

Afsi has lived in London for seven years, and has not been able to contact her family in Iran because of an internet blackout imposed by authorities since Thursday.

“It’s so frustrating, but it’s not the first time,” he said. “This time, we have hope… we feel like we can do it (overthrow the government) this time.”

In Paris, more than 2,000 people waving Iran’s flag from before the Islamic Revolution in 1979 demonstrated to chants of “No to the terrorist Islamic Republic.”

Police did not allow them to approach the Iranian embassy.

“Close the mullahs’ embassy, the terrorist factory,” some demonstrators yelled.

A 20-year-old Iranian student living in Paris, who gave his first name as Arya, said: “In Iran, the people are rising up in the streets, and we Iranians outside Iran are here to show we are with them and they are not alone.”

He said he was waiting to hear what the son of Iran’s last shah, US-based Reza Pahlavi, “will tell us to do.”

Pahlavi has emerged as a potential figurehead for government opponents.

The protests, initially sparked by anger over the rising cost of living, have lasted two weeks and become a movement against the theocratic system in place since the 1979 revolution. Iranian authorities have called the protesters “rioters” who are backed by the United States and Israel.

In Istanbul, demonstrators voicing support for the Iranian protesters gathered in steady rain.

Police cordoned off the area outside the Iranian consulate and the crowd was kept away from the mission.

“It’s been 72 hours since we had any news from the country, from our families. No internet or television, we can’t reach Iran anymore,” said Nina, a young Iranian living in Turkey who had the Iranian flag and red tears painted on her face.

“The regime kills at random — whether families are on foot or in a car, whether there are children. It spares no one,” she added.

The crackdown by Iran’s authorities has resulted in at least 490 deaths, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said Sunday, adding that more than 10,600 people across the country had been detained.

The leaders of Britain, France and Germany on Friday condemned the “killing of protestors” in Iran, while US President Donald Trump said Saturday his country stood “ready to help” as Iranians protest.

One of the demonstrators in London, Fahimeh Moradi, 52, said she was taking part “to support the Iranian people who are killed and murdered by the Iran regime — we don’t want the Islamic Republic of Iran, we hate them!”

She added: “My son is there, and I don’t know if he’s alive or not. We just want this murderous regime to leave Iran, that’s it!”

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.