Rallies held across the world in support of Iran’s anti-government protesters

Hundreds of thousands of people have taken part in rallies around the world to show their solidarity with anti-government demonstrators in Iran whose continued protests have been met with brutal and deadly repression.On Saturday, Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah, addressed a crowd of 200,000 people in Munich, telling them he was ready to lead the country to a “secular democratic future”.Pahlavi urged Iranians at home and abroad to continue demonstrating, calling on them to chant slogans from their homes and rooftops at 8pm (4.30pm UK time) on Saturday and Sunday to coincide with the protests in Germany and elsewhere.Thousands more people took part in solidarity demonstrations in cities including Los Angeles, Washington, Toronto, Tel Aviv, Lisbon, Sydney and London.Washington is preparing for a fresh round of talks with Iranian government representatives in Geneva this week despite Trump’s insistence that a change of power in Tehran would be the “best thing”.Demonstrators in Washington. Photograph: Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty ImagesA rally in Los Angeles on Saturday. Photograph: Patrick T Fallon/AFP/Getty ImagesPahlavi – who is based in the US and who has not returned to Iran since before the 1979 Islamic revolution that ousted the monarchy – told the crowd in Munich that he could lead a democratic handover.“I am here to guarantee a transition to a secular democratic future,” he said. “I am committed to be the leader of transition for you so we can one day have the final opportunity to decide the fate of our country through a democratic, transparent process to the ballot box.”One protester, a 62-year-old who is originally from Iran and gave his named only as Said, told Agence France-Presse (AFP): “The Iranian regime is a dead regime. It must be game over.”Speaking on Friday as he sent a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East to ratchet up military pressure on Tehran, Trump said a change of government in Iran would be the “best thing that could happen”.Trump had earlier threatened military intervention to support a wave of protests in Iran that peaked in January and were met by a violent crackdown that rights groups say killed thousands.Although Trump had initially said the US was “locked and loaded” to help demonstrators when the government crackdown began, he has since focused his military threats on Tehran’s nuclear programme, which US forces struck last June during Israel’s 12-day war with Iran.Representatives of Iran and the US, which have had no diplomatic relations since shortly after the 1979 revolution, held talks on the nuclear programme last week in Oman.On Sunday, a Swiss foreign ministry spokesperson told AFP that Oman would host talks in Geneva next week.Protesters march in solidarity with the Iranian people in Toronto. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty ImagesDemonstrations in support of Iranian protesters in Tel Aviv. Photograph: Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty ImagesVideos verified by AFP showed people in Iran this week chanting anti-government slogans despite the crackdown, as the clerical leadership celebrated the anniversary of the Islamic revolution.According to the US-based Human Rights Activists’ News Agency, at least 7,010 people, mostly protesters, were killed in the crackdown, though they and other rights groups say the toll is likely far higher. It said more than 53,845 people had been arrested.The Iranian opposition remains divided and Pahlavi has faced criticism for his support for Israel and making a highly publicised visit in 2023 that fractured an attempt to unify opposition camps. He has also never distanced himself from his father’s autocratic rule.Agence France-Presse contributed to this report