Thousands of protesters calling for an end to US and Israeli strikes on Iran marched to the US embassy in central London on Saturday. The demonstration, led by groups including the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Stop the War, and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, began on Millbank near Westminster before proceeding to the embassy in Vauxhall.
Protesters carried Iranian and Palestinian flags, as well as portraits of Iran's former supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei. Placards bore messages such as 'Stop Trump's Wars', 'Stop the War on Iran', and 'No War on Iran'. Police estimated the crowd at between 5,000 and 6,000.
Your Party MP Zarah Sultana addressed the crowd outside the embassy, saying: 'We will not be ignored again.' Drawing parallels to the 2003 Iraq war, she said: 'Back then, we were told that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction... but the truth was very different.' She added: 'The children of Baghdad deserve to grow up.'
A statement from former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who could not attend, was read to the crowd. It 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.'
The Metropolitan Police reported four arrests during the protest, including one for inciting racial hatred and another for a racially aggravated public order offence. Conditions were imposed requiring protesters to stay on a designated route and finish by 5pm.
