Mass rally in Munich against Iran protest crackdown draws 250,000

MUNICH – A huge demonstration against Iran’s crackdown on protests has drawn 250,000 people in Munich, according to police estimates on Saturday.

The turnout was twice the number expected by organizers, a group known as the Munich Circle.

Organizers said the timing was deliberate, as political and military decision-makers from around the world descended in the city for the Munich Security Conference. Demonstrations in support of Iran’s pro-democracy movement were also reported from Toronto and Los Angeles.

The demonstrators expressed support for Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s last shah who was overthrown in 1979. He lives in exile in the United States.

Pahlavi, 65, is the most prominent voice of the revolutionary movement in Iran.

He addressed the crowd in person late in the day and reaffirmed his desire to lead Iran into a democratic future with free elections. He expressed his gratitude for the solidarity shown by many nations. “We are not alone,” he added.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, or HRANA, says more than 7,000 people died in the crackdown by Iranian authorities on anti-government protests triggered by severe economic conditions.

The unrest erupted in late December and turned most violent on Jan. 8 and 9. Although the protests have since subsided, activists are still counting the dead and fear the toll could rise further.

The Munich Security Conference, which opened on Friday and runs through Sunday, is considered the world’s premier gathering of security policy experts, drawing more than 60 world leaders and around 100 foreign and defense ministers to its 62nd edition.

On the fringes of the Munich Security Conference, Pahlavi said earlier that more talks between Washington and Tehran could cost lives without offering a realistic solution to the country’s crisis.

“Every day that goes by, more Iranians are dying in Iran,” he told reporters on Saturday, arguing that only a “rapid intervention” would help save lives and improve regional security.

The ultimate goal, he said, should be to remove the government in Tehran from power as quickly as possible, adding that the leadership was using talks “to buy time.”

From exile, Pahlavi has sought to position himself as a leading opposition figure at a time when Iran lacks an organized political force to challenge the ruling establishment, though the extent of his influence remains unclear despite his rising profile.

In Munich, he once again appealed to U.S. President Donald Trump to follow up on his statement to the Iranian people last month that “help is on the way.”

“You deployed a massive armada and have signaled unmistakably that brutality’s time is ending,” Pahlavi said, adding that Iranians had heard Trump’s words and trusted him.

Trump could immortalize himself as one of “the world’s greatest heroes” if he took decisive military action, he said.

Pahlavi said protests in Iran were continuing despite the risks.

“People are still out there resisting. The regime, unfortunately, continues its campaign of imprisonment,” he said, adding that demonstrators would need support from abroad to return to the streets in large numbers.

Trump has delivered mixed messages on Iran in recent weeks, offering varying justifications for a potential attack – from responding to the government’s brutal crackdown on protesters to inflicting damage on its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

He has deployed military assets to the region, including aircraft carriers, and said he would favor a change of power in Iran, calling it “the best thing that could happen.”

But he also said that Tehran could avoid a U.S. attack by agreeing to a deal that significantly curbs Iran’s nuclear program, among other things.

The United States and Iran held talks last year over Tehran’s nuclear program, but negotiations stalled. New talks began earlier this month in Oman and another round is anticipated.