Thousands Rally for Iran Regime Change in Cities Around the World

People protesting the Iranian government gathered near the security conference in Munich, as well as in other cities. More U.S.-Iran talks are expected Tuesday.Protesters held up flags of Iran from before the revolution at a Saturday demonstration organized on the sidelines of the Munich-security-conference" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="16334" data-entity-type="event">Munich Security Conference.Credit...Thilo Schmuelgen/ReutersFeb. 14, 2026Updated 2:10 p.m. ETProtesters demanding regime change in Iran converged on the sidelines of the Munich-security-conference" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="16334" data-entity-type="event">Munich Security Conference on Saturday, a day after President Trump said a change in government would be the best outcome for a country reeling from deadly unrest.Earlier this month, Reza Pahlavi, the son of the country’s deposed shah and an opposition figure in exile, had encouraged protesters to take to the streets on Feb. 14 to put pressure on the Iranian government. Speaking at the Munich conference on Friday, Mr. Pahlavi renewed an appeal for American intervention in Iran.Large demonstrations also took place in other cities across the globe, including Melbourne, Athens, Tokyo and London.Nuclear talks between the United States and Iran were expected to resume on Tuesday in Geneva, according to two American officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy. Mr. Trump has ordered warships to the Persian Gulf, signaling readiness for a potential strike should the negotiations collapse.ImageProtesters in Athens chanting slogans and holding a banner showing the deposed shah of Iran and his family during a rally on Saturday.Credit...Louisa Gouliamaki/ReutersAround 200,000 people attended the protest in Munich, according to Tamara Djukaric, a spokeswoman for the city’s police, where Mr. Pahlavi, along with Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, addressed the crowds.Many demonstrators waved a version of the Iranian flag that bears a lion and sun motif, which was in use before the 1979 revolution that ousted the shah. Some carried images of Mr. Pahlavi and chanted phrases like “Regime change in Iran!” while others wore red baseball caps emblazoned with the phrase “Make Iran Great Again,” a reference to the hats worn by supporters of Mr. TrumpDuring a visit to troops in Fort Bragg, N. C., on Friday, President Trump said that replacing Iran’s current leadership would be “the best thing that could happen,” adding, “For 47 years, they’ve been talking and talking and talking.”The demonstrations across the globe came after weeks of protests in Iran itself, which began late December over economic issues and broadened into a nationwide movement challenging the country’s authoritarian clerical rulers. Security forces crushed those demonstrations with deadly force, killing thousands.In London, a number of protesters took to the streets carrying photographs of family members or friends who they said were killed or detained during the recent unrest. Some staged mock killings, while others chanted slogans denouncing the government, including “Death to Khamenei,” a reference to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader.“I am here to ask for human rights and equality and to tell the world that the value of the people who have been lost in Iran are not less than anyone else,” said one of the London protesters, Kimia, 28, who asked that only her first name be used for fear of retaliation. “I am here to be their voice because they have been silenced.”ImageDemonstrators attending a demonstration of the Iranian opposition hold a placard with U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday in Munich, Germany.Credit...Michaela Stache/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesImageA demonstrator wore a “Make Iran Great again” cap during a demonstration of the Iranian opposition.Credit...Michaela Stache/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesDemonstrators also held posters of Mr. Trump or images of his posts on social media, in which he urged Iranians to continue protesting and suggested help was on the way.Mania Shojaei, 54, said she joined the protest in London to show solidarity with the people in Iran, and knew several people who were injured in the protests.“I am upset that the U.S. has done nothing yet,” she said. “Trump said he was ‘locked and loaded.’ We are waiting for him to do something.”On Saturday, as protests swelled in cities across the globe, Mr. Pahlavi told reporters in Munich that negotiations would not work and that Iran’s government was “simply buying time.” He called on governments to sever the Iranian government’s financial lifelines, expel its diplomats and close its embassies. And he asked Mr. Trump to step in.“The Iranian people heard you say help is on the way, and they have faith in you,” he said during a news conference. “Help them.”Mr. Pahlavi, the heir of the monarchs who ruled Iran before their ouster nearly five decades ago, has recently tried to position himself as a potential transitional leader.“It is time to end the Islamic Republic,” he said on Saturday, adding that more was needed beyond “diplomatic scolding.”ImageReza Pahlavi, left, and his wife, Yasmine Pahlavi, wave to supporters at a demonstration Saturday during the Munich-security-conference" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="16334" data-entity-type="event">Munich Security Conference. Credit...Ebrahim Noroozi/Associated PressThough Mr. Pahlavi has support among some of the Iranian government’s opponents, analysts caution that it is hard to gauge how many Iranians genuinely hope he might one day return as a national leader, given his family’s history.During the Pahlavi era of Iran, when the shah maintained close ties with the United States, Iranian security forces routinely arrested and tortured dissenters — a record that Mr. Pahlavi has largely avoided addressing directly.Critics argue that he overstates his backing inside Iran, and some critics say they have faced harassment and threats from his supporters.In the recent protests inside Iran, some demonstrators appeared to be rallying around Mr. Pahlavi, even shouting “Long live the shah,” using the Farsi word for “king.” Others, however, have rejected all forms of authoritarian rule, chanting instead, “Death to the oppressor, be it king or supreme leader.”Aaron Boxerman and Luke Broadwater contributed reporting.Jonathan Wolfe is a Times reporter based in London, covering breaking news.Abdi Latif Dahir is a Middle East correspondent for The Times, covering Lebanon and Syria. He is based in Beirut.SKIP