Camellia Damron
This is the moment police violently clashed with protesters outside the Iranian embassy in London after an activist climbed the building and took down the Islamic Republic’s flag.
Dramatic footage taken on Friday night shows a man perched on the balcony of the embassy while fellow protesters chant slogans and wave flags on the ground below.
The man suddenly jumps off the ledge, prompting baton-wielding officers to surround him when he reaches the ground.
In response, protesters appear to lunge towards a group of cops, unleashing a violent clash as police use their clubs to fend off demonstrators.
Some activists are seen being crushed among the chaos, while others are toppled to the ground.
Two police officers are then seen dragging the man away from the scene, while protesters continue to pounce on cops.
Amidst the chaos, the two officers are pulled onto the ground, with one cop seen falling on top of the man.
Protesters continue to shout at officers, while some members of the police tell them to ‘get back’.
A separate video shows the activist removing the Iranian flag from the balcony as protesters cheer.
Daily Mail has approached the Metropolitan Police for comment regarding the video.
The man who climbed onto the balcony has since been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, trespass on diplomatic property and assaulting police.
Several others were arrested on suspicion of violent disorder, while a section 35 has been imposed as a result of ongoing disorder, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
A spokesperson for the police force said: ‘During the ongoing protest at the Iranian Embassy this evening, a protester illegally accessed private property and climbed across multiple balconies onto the roof of the Embassy and removed a flag.
‘He has since been arrested by officers on suspicion of criminal damage, trespass on diplomatic property and assaulting police.
‘A section 35 order has been imposed as a result of ongoing disorder, including missiles being thrown at officers. Several officers have suffered injuries.’
The Met added that a significant police presence remains in place.
The clashes outside the embassy come as thousands of exiled Iranians across the world have taken to the streets to shout out their rage at the government of the Islamic Republic, which has cracked down on protests in their homeland.
More than 3,400 people have been killed by Iranian security forces since the outbreak of protests last month, according to the human rights organisation Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO).
The unrest, sparked by dire economic conditions, has posed the biggest internal challenge to Iran’s rulers for at least three years and has come at a time of intensifying international pressure after Israeli and US strikes last year.
The protests began on December 28 over the fall in value of the currency and have grown into wider demonstrations and calls for the fall of the clerical establishment.
Iran’s authorities have taken a dual approach, cracking down while also calling protests over economic problems legitimate.
So far, there are no signs of fracture in the security elite that could bring down the clerical system in power since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Britain, France, Germany and Italy all summoned Iranian ambassadors in protest over the crackdown.
It also comes as Iran’s exiled crown prince called on US President Donald Tumo to carry out a ‘surgical strike’ on the Islamic Republic’s security forces.
Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s toppled shah and the country’s opposition figure, has been spurring world leaders to ramp up pressure on the government in Tehran as deadly protests continue to rock the Middle Eastern nation.
Speaking to reporters in Washington on Friday, Pahlavi said the US should conduct a ‘surgical strike’ on Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), as he highlighted the importance of weakening the regime’s command.
‘Clearly, it’s obvious what the targets should be, and the regime knows it … I think the Iranian people naturally say, the people who have hurt us the most should be the first ones to be targeted,’ he said.
Pahlavi added that ‘large sections’ of the Iranian army and security forces have ‘whispered’ their loyalty to him and that he is uniquely positioned to ensure a stable transition for the country.
‘I will return to Iran,’ he said, without setting a timeline for his return.
Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to intervene in support of protesters in Iran, this week expressed uncertainty over Pahlavi’s ability to muster support within the country.
Pahlavi met White House envoy Steve Witkoff last weekend, Axios reported, citing an unidentified senior US official.
Asked about his discussions with US officials, Pahlavi declined to give details, saying it was a ‘sensitive time.’
‘I believe that President Trump is a man of his word and, ultimately, he will stand with the Iranian people,’ he said, adding that it was ‘never too late’ for the US to help.
‘We will fight until we win.’
Ahead of his remarks, videos played at the press conference showed people injured, apparently by Iranian security forces and other scenes from the protests, including demonstrators chanting ‘Long Live the Shah.’
That chant has been heard at the protests, alongside other chants calling for the fall of the Islamic Republic that do not mention the Shah.
‘The Iranian people are taking decisive action on the ground. It is now time for the international community to join them fully,’ Pahlavi said.
Pahlavi said countries should target the leadership and command and control structure of Iran’s elite military force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, block the assets of the clerical rulers and expel the government’s diplomats from world capitals.
He also called on the world to help break through the government’s communications blockade by deploying Starlink satellite internet systems.
Pahlavi said a secure communication channel had been set up for people who want to defect from the government or its security forces, saying that tens of thousands of people have made contact, but he did not address how he planned to exert control over the vast network of Iran’s security establishment apparatus, including the Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Helping the protesters to succeed ‘does not require putting (foreign) boots on the ground,’ Pahlavi said.
‘The Iranian people’s boots are already on the ground. They are the ones marching, sacrificing and fighting for their freedom every single day.’
A democratic Iran under his leadership would have ‘cordial relations’ with its neighbours, he said, including Israel – a close ally of Iran in his father’s day and an implacable foe of the Islamic Republic now.
Source: Dailymail.co.uk | Read the Full Story…
