British-Iranians in the UK have raised safety concerns with authorities amid heightened tensions linked to the conflict with the US and Israel. Online videos showing individuals allegedly being 'aggressive' and 'coercing' in London, home to one of the UK's largest Iranian communities, have left some feeling unsafe.
Naghmeh Rajabi, a British-Iranian activist, said she no longer feels safe going to Finchley, north London's 'Little Tehran'. She has met the Metropolitan Police and Barnet Council to voice concerns about alleged intimidation and harassment, including online videos in Farsi of individuals being 'aggressive and attacking' and people 'coercing' shop owners to display the lion and sun flag, the symbol of pre-revolutionary Iran.
'There are people that have lived here for 40-plus years and there’s never been any issues, and it’s just all of a sudden we keep hearing every day about incidents involved with these pro-monarchists and their intimidation,' Rajabi said. She warned that unless concrete action is taken, the situation will escalate.
Local police have increased patrols in Barnet and met community representatives to manage tensions. Detective Superintendent Katie Harber said: 'London is a global city and the impact of events that take place thousands of miles away play out locally in the capital. We understand the fears that many people in our Iranian communities may have.'
The concerns come amid broader tensions, including a ban on the al-Quds Day march and counterprotests, and arrests linked to suspected Iranian espionage. A Change.org petition has called on the Home Office to investigate UK supporter groups of Reza Pahlavi, an exiled son of Iran's former monarch, and to protect communities from intimidation. Pahlavi has said he 'always spoken against any kind of political violence or intimidation'.
