Grieving relatives of a man killed during Iran’s violent protester crackdown joined thousands marching through London supporting the overthrow of the state – as the last shah’s son called on the US to help ‘bury’ the Islamic regime.
Mehdi Hosseini was 28 when he was killed as he tried to take a wounded friend to hospital, his family revealed.
They had been caught up in the deadly repression enacted by Iranian forces against demonstrators, who have been taking to the streets across the country in unprecedented numbers since January.
His aunt, Farah, who wouldn’t give her name out of fear for family still living in the country, told the Daily Mail ‘[Hosseini] was fighting for freedom and democracy against the terrorist regime.’
She joined droves of demonstrators on Saturday who gathered in central London to march to the Iranian embassy and protest against the regime.
Many were seen carrying Union Jacks, Israeli flags, and the Shahist flag of Iran, containing a lion holding a sword as they gathered at Whitehall.
They also sung God Save The King and chanted ‘Long Live Reza Pehlavi’, the heir to the last Shah of Iran.
Farah and another family member, Parvaneh, held up signs showing images of Hosseini and Pehlavi, who today said it was ‘time to end the Islamic republic’.
Grieving relatives Farah (left) and Parvaneh (right) of 28-year-old Mehdi Hosseini, who was killed during Iran’s violent protester crackdown, joined thousands marching through London supporting the overthrow of the state
Droves of demonstrators on Saturday who gathered in central London to march to the Iranian embassy and protest against the regime
Declaring her support for the return of the Shah, Farah said: ‘We have been a monarchy for 2,000 years. Reza Pehlavi is the legal ruler of Iran. It’s not only us we are fighting for. We are fighting to make the whole world safe.’
Parvaneh said: ‘There have been lots of young people killed by the IRGC. They’re only 14, 15, or 16, it’s been horrible.
‘If this is how they treat their own people, how do you think they will act if they get their hands on nuclear weapons?’
Their comments came as Washington continues to engage diplomatically with Tehran, with Switzerland confirming mediator Oman would host a fresh round of talks in Geneva next week.
US-based Pahlavi, who has not returned to Iran since before the 1979 Islamic revolution that ousted the monarchy, added it was ‘time to end the Islamic republic’ while speaking to reporters at the Munich Security Conference.
Outside, around 200,000 of his supporters thronged the streets near the gathering of world leaders, calling on them to ramp up pressure against the Islamic republic.
‘Javid shah’ (long live the shah),’ the crowd chanted as they waved Shahist flags.
‘The Iranian regime is a dead regime,’ expressed Said, a 62-year-old protester originally from Iran. ‘It must be game over.
Many demonstrators were seen carrying Union Jacks, Israeli flags, and the Shahist flag of Iran , containing a lion holding a sword as they gathered at Whitehall.
According to US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, at least 7,008 people, mostly protesters, were killed in the crackdown, though rights groups warn the toll is likely far higher
Pahlavi has urged Iranians at home and abroad to continue demonstrations against the authorities, calling on them to chant slogans from their homes and rooftops to coincide with protests taking place outside the country.
Trump had said on Friday that a change of government in Iran would be the ‘best thing that could happen’, as he sent a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East to ratchet up military pressure on Tehran.
He had earlier threatened military intervention to support a wave of street protests in Iran that peaked in January and were met by a violent crackdown that rights groups say killed thousands.
‘To President Trump… The Iranian people heard you say help is on the way, and they have faith in you. Help them,’ Pahlavi told reporters in Munich.
‘It is time to end the Islamic republic. This is the demand echoing from the bloodshed of my compatriots who are not asking us to fix the regime but to help them bury it,’ he added.
When Iran began its crackdown on protests, Trump initially said the United States was ‘locked and loaded’ to help demonstrators.
But he has recently focused his military threats on Tehran’s nuclear programme, which US forces struck last July during Israel’s unprecedented 12-day war with Iran.
Representatives of Iran and the United States, who have had no diplomatic relations since shortly after the 1979 revolution, held talks on the nuclear programme last week in Oman.
Reza Pehlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah, called on Trump to ‘bury’ the Islamic regime
Videos verified by AFP showed people in Iran chanting anti-government slogans despite the ongoing crackdown, as the clerical leadership celebrated the anniversary of the Islamic revolution.
According to US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, at least 7,008 people, mostly protesters, were killed in the crackdown, though they and other rights groups warn the toll is likely far higher.
More than 53,000 people have been arrested, it added.
Pahlavi had encouraged Iranians to join the wave of protests, which Iranian authorities have said were hijacked by ‘terrorists’ fuelled by their sworn enemies Israel and the United States.
Many protest chants had called for the monarchy’s return, and Pahlavi, 65, has said he is ready to lead a democratic transition.
The Iranian opposition remains divided and Pahlavi has faced criticism for his support for Israel, making a highly publicised visit in 2023 that fractured an attempt to unify opposition camps.
He has also never distanced himself from his father’s autocratic rule.
Trump declined on Friday to say who he would want to take over in Iran from supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but he added that ‘there are people’.