Protesters come out for Iran, against war in spots across the globe
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People waving Iran's pre-Islamic revolution Lion and Sun flags take part in a rally in Paris on March 7.
PHOTO: AFP
- Pro-Pahlavi demonstrations occurred globally, with protesters supporting Reza Pahlavi's potential leadership for Iran's transition.
- Anti-war protests took place in Britain and Cyprus, while South Africa saw demonstrations supporting Khamenei and criticising Israel.
- Diverse protests in cities like Amsterdam showed varied views, from supporting Pahlavi to opposing both the Shah and the Mullahs.
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PARIS - Lion-emblazoned flags of pre-revolution Iran fluttered in cities across the world on March 7 as demonstrators took to the streets a week after the start of the war in the Middle East.
Some protesters came out in support of Mr Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of the country’s late shah, while others denounced the option.
Others demonstrated against the war and some in support of Iran’s late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the first US-Israeli strikes of the conflict.
Paris saw two demonstrations: one supporting the son of the late shah to head up a transition, and another denouncing that scenario.
“I support Pahlavi who is calling for a revolution,” Mr Masoud Ghanaatian, 35, a student, told AFP at a protest in southern Paris, where participants carried photos of the late shah’s son and waved US, Israeli and pre-revolution Iran flags. “He’s a democrat. He can oversee a transition and promises to organise elections.”
A woman singing the Iranian national anthem in Paris on March 7, during a demonstration in support of Mr Reza Pahlavi, son of Iran’s last shah.
PHOTO: EPA
Hundreds of pro-Pahlavi demonstrations also gathered in Stockholm, holding up pictures of him and his late father.
But farther north, protesters wearing yellow vests reading “Free Iran” showed off stickers on their hands that read “No Shah, no Mullah”.
People attending a protest in Paris on March 7, organised by the National Council of Resistance of Iran.
PHOTO: REUTERS
In Amsterdam protesters snaked along one of the city’s canals, holding up Israeli, American and pre-revolution Iran flags, as they called on the government to invite Mr Pahlavi to the country and to close the Iranian embassy.
Shortly after dawn in Britain, anti-war protesters gathered at the entrance of an air force base in Fairford, south-west of England, holding signs reading “Hands off Iran,” “Peace” and “Yanks go home”.
US military personnel working on a US Air Force bomber at an airbase in Fairford, Britain, on March 7.
PHOTO: REUTERS
A demonstrations against the war also took place in Cyprus.
In South Africa – which has dragged Israel to the International Court of Justice, accusing it of genocide
In Cape Town, Iranian pro-democracy activists and supporters of Israel waved Israeli flags and chanted slogans in the Albert Waterfront shopping mall.
Several counter-protesters carried signs denouncing Israel and in support of the Palestinians. AFP
A protester holding a poster of late Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei outside the US Consulate in Johannesburg on March 7.
PHOTO: AFP
