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Hundreds of thousands of people marched down Yonge Street to the beat of drums and chants of “King Reza Pahlavi” at a rally in North York, as similar protests took place in major cities around the world.
Protesters held aloft and draped themselves in red, white and green flags emblazoned with a golden lion — the flag Iran used before the Islamic Republic came to power in 1979, toppling the previous monarchy.
Demonstrators called for an end to government repression in Iran as widespread protests inside the country have been met with violent crackdowns.
Toronto police estimated 350,000 people took part.
In Vancouver, the police chief said around 50,000 people marched there.
“It’s hard to see that our friends and families in Iran are being kept in prison for no reason, being shot in the head for (using) their democratic voice,” said Nima Najafi at the Toronto protest.
Najafi said he attended a protest two weeks ago in solidarity with anti-government protesters in Iran that took place at Toronto’s Sankofa Square. He said Saturday’s protest was twice as large.
Toronto police said 150,000 people attended the Sankofa Square rally.
Najafi and others called for the return of Iran’s exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi, saying he is the only leader capable of helping Iran eventually transition to a democracy.
Thousands of protesters held pictures of Pahlavi at the march, alongside photos of people killed in Iran.
Arshia Aghdasi, a protester who said he flew to Toronto from Florida to join the rally, called on foreign powers to intervene in Iran, specifically the U.S.
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U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested the U.S. could attack Iran over the killing of peaceful demonstrators in the country. Some protesters Saturday held signs with Trump’s face on them, calling on the U.S. president to end nuclear negotiations with Iran and take military action.
Najafi said he was initially against calls for foreign powers to intervene in Iran but now he believes it is the only path forward.
“I had a friend who got shot in the head. He died. He was a pharmacist … a high school friend,” he said. “I had another friend who is imprisoned because he was a doctor treating patients.”
Iran has been gripped by countrywide protests since late December, sparked by an ongoing economic crisis that has sent the country’s currency into freefall.
While protesters were initially focused on Iran’s economy, demonstrators pivoted to calling for an end to Iran’s Islamic Republic, with some supporting the return of the ousted monarchy to power.
Iran’s government, which has cracked down on protests and implemented an internet blackout, said more than 3,000 people have been killed since protests broke out.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in counting deaths during previous rounds of unrest in Iran, put the death toll at over 7,000.
Arash Karimi said he was protesting on Yonge Street in solidarity with unarmed civilians who have been killed in Iran, calling government crackdowns a “one-sided war against the people.”
“Every Iranian knows someone, relatives or friends, (who have been) killed,” he said.
Amirali Ahzan, a protester who wore an Iranian lion and sun flag as well as a rainbow Pride flag on his back, said he hoped the current unrest in Iran leads to political change that will guarantee more rights for the Iranian people.
Ahzan said he fled Iran three years ago because he feared for his safety as a member of the LGBTQ community. Homosexuality is criminalized in Iran.
Before he fled, Ahzan said he was briefly jailed in Iran for attending a party where alcohol was present. Consuming alcohol is also banned in Iran.
Ahzan said it’s unclear how many LGBTQ Iranians have been killed or imprisoned since protests broke out. He said he was marching Saturday in their honour.
“I think it’s my duty to be their voice,” he said. “There are so many people like me who have been marginalized and criminalized. I do want to stand up for them.”
Ahzan said he wants Pahlavi to lead a “free Iran” and called on the exiled crown prince to improve women’s rights, trans rights and human rights in the country.
Saturday’s rally was one of many happening worldwide as part of what Pahlavi has labelled a Global Day of Action.
Pahlavi said Toronto, Munich and Los Angeles would be the main gathering points for Iranians living abroad to protest and call for regime change in Iran.
A protest in Munich was attended by more than 200,000 people, according to German news agency dpa.
Police warned the public to steer clear of the area around Saturday’s protest, which they said would cause extreme traffic and transit delays. Police closed roads, including portions of Yonge Street and North York Boulevard, ahead of the rally.
The protests came as Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand announced Canada is imposing additional sanctions on seven people under the Special Economic Measures (Iran) Regulations.
A news release from Global Affairs Canada said the people being sanctioned have ties to Iranian state organizations responsible for “intimidation, violence and transnational repression targeting Iranian dissidents and human rights defenders.”
It said Canada has now sanctioned 222 Iranian people and 256 Iranian entities.
— With files from The Associated Press
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