Video shows a protester installing a pre-revolution Lion and Sun flag at the Iranian embassy in London after tearing down the regimes flag outside the building. (Screengrab: X/@JayneZirkle)
A protester climbed the Iranian Embassy in London on Friday, tore down the Islamic Republic’s flag and replaced it with Iran’s pre-1979 “Lion and Sun” emblem, according to videos shared online.
The footage shows the protester scaling the front balcony of the embassy building in Kensington before removing the current regime’s flag and replacing it with the symbol linked to Iran’s monarchy before the 1979 Islamic revolution. A crowd gathered below cheered as the flag was raised.
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پرچم خرچنگ نشان سفارت ایران اشغالی به پایین کشیده و پرچم ملی ایران جایگزین شد
London’s Metropolitan Police said officers were called to the scene and made two arrests. One person was arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass and assault on an emergency worker, while another was arrested for aggravated trespass.
Police said they were also looking for a third person in connection with trespass. It was not clear if the person who removed the flag was among those arrested.
Fox News said it contacted Iran’s Embassy in London for comment but received no response. The protest comes as demonstrations continue across Iran.
Videos and images shared online show crowds gathering in several cities, while solidarity protests have also taken place in major European capitals, including Paris and Berlin.
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Protesters show signs against Iran leader Ali Khamenei during a demonstration in Berlin, Germany, in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo)
Speaking to Fox News, British-Iranian journalist Potkin Azarmehr said international attention matters to people protesting inside Iran.
“What a contrast to Obama’s time, when protesters in Iran were chanting, ‘Obama, are you with us or with them?’” he said.
“Any international support, whether at grassroots or government level, is encouraging.” Azarmehr questioned why protests in support of Iranians have not been more visible in Western activist circles. “The question is where are the Western activist protesters?” he said.
According to Fox News, demonstrations in Iran began in late December over economic problems and later spread nationwide, with protesters calling for political change. A US-based rights group has said at least 72 people have been killed and more than 2,300 detained so far.
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Some protesters have been seen chanting in support of Iran’s former monarch, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. His son, Reza Pahlavi, has called on people to continue protesting.
Protesters showing pictured of Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran, at a demonstration in Berlin, Germany, in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government. (AP Photo)
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the situation in Iran was being closely watched. “Iran’s in big trouble,” Trump said, according to Fox News. “It looks to me that the people are taking over certain cities.”
Trump warned that the US would respond strongly if the Iranian authorities use mass violence against protesters. “We’ll be hitting them very hard where it hurts,” he said. “That doesn’t mean boots on the ground.”
Iranian state media reported that the country’s attorney general warned protesters could face severe punishment, including charges that carry the death penalty.
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Videos from London and Iran continue to circulate online as protests and security warnings escalate.
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Video shows a protester installing a pre-revolution Lion and Sun flag at the Iranian embassy in London after tearing down the regimes flag outside the building. (Screengrab: X/@JayneZirkle) 
