Protester Replaces Iranian Flag with Pre-Revolution Symbol at London Embassy

An anti-regime protester scaled the Iranian Embassy in London on Friday, tearing down the Islamic Republic’s flag and replacing it with Iran’s pre-1979 “Lion and Sun” emblem, in a dramatic display that captured international attention.

Video footage showed the demonstrator climbing the front of the embassy building in Kensington before removing the current regime’s flag and raising the historic symbol associated with Iran’s monarchy. A large crowd of anti-regime protesters cheered enthusiastically as the flag was changed.

Metropolitan Police responded quickly to the scene, making two arrests—one individual for aggravated trespass and assault on an emergency worker, and another for aggravated trespass. Authorities stated they are also seeking a third person for trespass, though it remains unclear whether the protester who replaced the flag was among those detained.

The embassy incident comes amid Iran’s most significant wave of unrest in years, with protests that began on December 28 over economic grievances now evolving into a direct challenge to the country’s clerical leadership. According to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, at least 72 people have been killed and more than 2,300 detained in the ongoing demonstrations across Iran.

The Iranian regime has attempted to control the spread of information by implementing a nationwide internet blackout. According to NetBlocks CEO Alp Toker, internet connectivity in Iran has dropped below 2%, effectively activating what he described as a “centralized kill switch” designed to conceal the government’s response to protesters.

Some demonstrations have included chants supporting Iran’s former monarch, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who died in 1980. His son, Reza Pahlavi, has publicly voiced support for continued protests against the current regime.

Potkin Azarmehr, a British-Iranian journalist, noted the current situation contrasts sharply with Iran’s 2009 Green Movement. “What a contrast to Obama’s time, when protesters in Iran were chanting, ‘Obama, are you with us or with them?'” Azarmehr told Fox News Digital. He added that international support at both grassroots and governmental levels provides encouragement to protesters, while questioning the relative silence of Western activist groups.

The London embassy protest coincides with solidarity demonstrations in other major European cities, including Paris and Berlin, as well as outside the White House in Washington, D.C.

U.S. President Trump addressed the situation during a press conference on Friday, stating, “Iran’s in big trouble. It looks to me that the people are taking over certain cities that nobody thought were really possible just a few weeks ago. We’re watching the situation very carefully.”

Trump warned of a forceful U.S. response if the regime resorts to mass violence against protesters. “We’ll be hitting them very hard where it hurts,” he said. “And that doesn’t mean boots on the ground, but it means hitting them very, very hard where it hurts.”

Meanwhile, the Iranian government has escalated its threats against demonstrators. On Saturday, Iran’s attorney general, Mohammad Movahedi Azad, warned that anyone participating in protests would be considered an “enemy of God,” a charge carrying the death penalty. The statement, broadcast on Iranian state television, indicated that even those who “helped rioters” could face this severe charge.

“Prosecutors must carefully and without delay, by issuing indictments, prepare the grounds for the trial and decisive confrontation with those who, by betraying the nation and creating insecurity, seek foreign domination over the country,” the statement read, adding that “proceedings must be conducted without leniency, compassion or indulgence.”

As tensions continue to escalate, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has signaled a coming crackdown despite international warnings, setting the stage for what could become an even more volatile situation in the days ahead.