{"id":117433,"date":"2026-03-01T19:01:51","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T19:01:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=117433"},"modified":"2026-03-01T19:01:51","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T19:01:51","slug":"british-iranians-take-to-streets-of-manchester-hours-after-us-israeli-strikes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=117433","title":{"rendered":"British Iranians take to streets of Manchester hours after US-Israeli strikes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>3 Minute, 36 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
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After Iran was hit by US-Israeli strikes, about 1,000 British Iranians held a rally in Manchester, supporting the military action against their homeland.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not easy to talk about or even think about but the fact is that we\u2019ve been under so much repression and pressure that we just want to break free,\u201d says Farid Vahidi, an Iranian human rights activist living in Manchester.<\/p>\n

More than 200 people \u2013 including\u00a0the country\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei\u00a0\u2013 have been killed in Iran, which has launched retaliatory attacks on neighbouring countries hosting American military bases.<\/p>\n

Vahidi, who works with refugees in the UK, says \u201cwe don\u2019t want our country to be attacked\u201d, but at the same time, he believes many have been \u201ccalling for a long time\u201d for foreign intervention.<\/p>\n

The current regime, which came to power after overthrowing the country\u2019s unpopular monarchy in 1979, has a poor reputation for human rights.<\/p>\n

Since December, it is estimated to have\u00a0killed between 6,000 and 30,000 protesters\u00a0\u2013 exact figures are hard to verify as independent media are not allowed to operate freely in the country.<\/p>\n

\"handout
Farid Vahidi says many Iranians want to \u201cbreak free\u201d of the current regime<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One woman, who wishes to remain anonymous as she fears repercussions for her parents in Iran, says she was able to make brief contact with them after the attacks started on Saturday, but has been unable to get through since the government implemented an internet outage.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last time they shut down the internet [in January], I couldn\u2019t talk to my parents for two weeks and I don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen this time,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"PA
Members of the Iranian diaspora have been protesting against the regime worldwide, including outside Downing Street<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Her friend, who also wants to be anonymous, says she has \u201cbittersweet feelings\u201d.<\/p>\n

She adds: \u201cIn an ideal world, no citizen would like their country to be bombed, but [Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps] got us to the point that we actually supported Trump to attack our country.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people tell us do you want to become like another Syria, another Iraq?<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I feel like Iran has a different foundation.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a people, we are really standing by one another, and we really support each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"EPA
In Iran, there have been celebrations, while others have held protests against the US-Israeli strikes \u2013 including in its capital, Tehran<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The current regime has gained notoriety for its hard line interpretation of Islamic sharia law, and the woman says she was arrested at the age of 16 by morality police for not wearing a hijab headscarf properly.<\/p>\n

The 26-year-old adds: \u201cA lot of Iranians now are distancing themselves from Islam and they don\u2019t want to be identified as Muslim, because they\u2019ve been traumatised by that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having moved to the UK at the age of 18 to study, she says: \u201cWe\u2019re the privileged ones that could get out of Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n

Soaring inflation has made life harder for many, she adds, which means the latest anti-government protests have \u201cso many different layers\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is because of the economy, oppression, a lack of human rights, a lack of women\u2019s rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dainel
Dainel says many don\u2019t want the current Iranian regime<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dainel, who was also at the Manchester rally, reckons many compatriots at home and abroad support the attacks for the time being, adding that those at the rally \u201cwant to be the voice of Iranians\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want this regime because it is doing everything very badly,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Among the flags waved at the rally, some were representing the US and Israel.<\/p>\n

When asked if he had trust in US and Israeli leaders, he said: \u201cWe trust them more than the mullahs (religious clerics) in power in Iran because what they say, they do.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we see what the mullahs say, they never do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vahidi is more cautious, saying: \u201cI don\u2019t want to fantasise and think they have our interest in mind \u2013 obviously any politician thinks about their own and their country\u2019s interests first and foremost.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut at this moment in time, personally as an Iranian and any other person whom I have spoken to, there is no other way in front of us.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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