A video posted to social media showed a man on the balcony of the embassy, near Hyde Park, replacing the country\u2019s current flag with the one used during the rule of the ousted shah to cheers from hundreds of demonstrators below.<\/p>\n
The old tri-colored flag with a lion and sun \u2014 used in Iran before the Islamic Revolution \u2014 stayed in place for several minutes before being removed, witnesses on site told AFP.<\/p>\n
London police, in an online post, said they had arrested two people, \u201cone for aggravated trespass and assault on an emergency worker and one for aggravated trespass\u201d and they were seeking another individual for \u201ctrespass.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n Police said that after the flag incident \u201cadditional officers are being deployed to prevent any disorder\u201d and to protect the Iranian embassy.<\/p>\n ???? JUST IN: A protester climbed onto Iran\u2019s Embassy in London, tore down the Islamic Republic flag, and raised the Lion & Sun opposition flag as the moment went viral.pic.twitter.com\/LgCI7nlm9C<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Derrick Evans (@DerrickEvans4WV) January 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Outside the embassy, hundreds chanted: \u201cDemocracy for Iran. Shah Reza Pahlavi. Justice for Iran,\u201d referring to the son of the late shah of Iran who has spurred on the protests from exile in the US. Some also held placards reading \u201cFree Iran.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m here to support Iranians, my loved ones inside Iran \u2014 they\u2019ve been protesting for two weeks today,\u201d said one demonstrator, Taraneh, 33, who declined to give her last name.<\/p>\n \t \u201cThe internet has been shut down\u2026 We get very little information from inside Iran,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n \u201cBut, you know, people are still in the streets. They\u2019re being attacked. The Islamic Republic is murdering people,\u201d she said. \u201cI want this regime to go. I just want to be able to go back.\u201d<\/p>\n Since the wave of protests began last month, Iranians in diaspora communities around the world have gathered in front of the country\u2019s embassies abroad, including earlier demonstrations in London, Paris, Berlin and Brussels, as well as outside the White House in Washington DC.<\/p>\n \t The lion and sun flag has been seen in several videos coming out of Iran since the protests began, and Pahlavi has taken an outsized role in the movement, and on Saturday called for more nights of demonstrations.<\/p>\n Demonstrations have included cries in support of the shah, something that could have been cause for a death sentence in the past, and now underlines the anger fueling the protests that began over Iran\u2019s ailing economy.<\/p>\n In a Persian-language video statement, Pahlavi appeared to try to escalate the anti-regime efforts, saying: \u201cOur goal is no longer just to take to the streets. The goal is to prepare to seize and hold city centers.\u201d He added that he was \u201cpreparing to return to my homeland\u201d on a day he believed was \u201cvery near.\u201d<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AFP__20260110__92AR6WM__v3__HighRes__BritainIranRightsEmbassyProtest-640x400.jpg\")
\n\t\tAnti-Iranian regime protesters hold up a portrait of the last shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, as they take part in a demonstration outside the Iranian Embassy in central London on January 10, 2026. (CARLOS JASSO \/ AFP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AP26010571559098-640x400.jpg\")
\n\t\tProtesters participate in a demonstration in Berlin, Germany, in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government, January 10, 2026. (AP Photo\/Ebrahim Noroozi)<\/p>\n
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