Thousands of protesters marched through London on Saturday calling for an end to the US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
Between 5,000 and 6,000 people turned out for the march, the Metropolitan Police said, with demonstrators chanting: “Stop the bombing now, now, now”.
It came as US president Donald Trump said Iran is being “beaten to hell” and warned that the country “will be hit hard today”. Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian said demands for an unconditional surrender were a “dream that they should take to their grave”.
However, he apologised for attacks on neighbouring countries in an apparent attempt to calm regional anger at Iranian attacks on the Gulf.
Action groups including the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), Stop The War, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Muslim Association of Britain, Palestinian Forum in Britain and Friends of Al-Aqsa led the march to the US embassy in Vauxhall on Saturday afternoon.
The Met, which deployed officers to escort the demonstration, previously announced they had imposed conditions requiring protesters to stay on designated routes and finish their post-march rallies by 5pm. Dozens of police vans were deployed around Millbank, with many officers patrolling the road.
Speaking to protesters in central London, ex-Labour MP Zarah Sultana said “we will not be ignored again” as she called for an end to strikes on Iran.
Recalling the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, she told the crowd: “Back then, we were told that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. We were told that war would bring peace and democracy.
“We were told that the war would protect Iraqis and protect the world, but the truth was very different.”
Speaking outside the US embassy, the Your Party MP for Coventry South added: “The children of Baghdad deserve to grow up. And 23 years ago, when we marched against the Iraq war, we were ignored.
“We will not be ignored again, because history proved them right, and today, we raise our voices for peace, for justice and for a world where governments learn the lessons of the past.”
Protesters marched from Millbank, near Westminster, to outside the US embassy in Vauxhall. Some demonstrators spoke through a microphone on a stage set up outside the embassy, shouting: “Donald Trump terrorist”; “Stop bombing Iran”; and: “Keir Starmer, shame on you”.
The crowd could be heard chanting: “From Iran to Palestine, bombing children is a crime.” They carried placards reading “Stop Trump’s Wars” and “Stop the war on Iran”, as well as Iranian and Palestinian flags. Some were also holding portraits of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, who was killed in the opening strike of the war last Saturday.
In a statement read out to the protesters, former Labour leader and now independent MP Jeremy Corbyn warned: “Do not drag Britain into another illegal war.”
He said: “In 2003, hundreds of thousands of us protested against the illegal invasion of Iraq, and we were ignored, but we are here today to say loudly and clearly: do not drag Britain into another illegal war.”
He added: “Forever war is not a game. It has real like human consequences, and US and Israel must be held accountable for their prize.”
Several groups of people holding Israeli flags were standing on the side of Millbank during the protest. Many protesters could be heard shouting “shame on you” and “murderers” to the people holding Israeli flags.
A few people holding the flags said to those marching: “You’re wrong,” and “you’re in denial”.
One protester demonstrating in central London said: “The public aren’t for the war.”
Asked about why he attended the protest in Millbank, Martin Perry, 58 and from Northampton, said: “Because the acts against Iran are against international law, and it’s just a pattern of events, decisions taken by America and Israel, that are destroying international law.”
He added: “I’m here today to signal to Keir Starmer that the public aren’t for the war against Iran, and don’t want our forces going into, being involved in an illegal war.”
Daniela Costa, a 30-year-old Brazilian student living in London, said: “I’m from Brazil. I just came here to show solidarity, both to Iran and Palestine, but also to Cuba and Venezuela.
“I just feel that we can’t just live as if it’s just business as usual at this moment.
“I expect that this protest will show the UK government that they don’t have popular support to participate in the war in any way, such as providing weapons or providing their bases to, like military bases to the US.”
The Metropolitan Police said: “The Hands Off Iran protest has reached the United States Embassy, where we are seeing some protesters disperse.
“A woman in her 60s has been arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred in relation to a placard.”
