MUNICH, Germany — About 250,000 people joined a demonstration against the Iranian government in Munich on Saturday, police said, as world leaders gathered nearby for a security conference.
The protesters rallied on Munich’s Theresienwiese fairgrounds, denouncing the leadership of Iran’s Islamic Republic following the deadly repression of nationwide protests in January.
The demonstration was held as the exiled son of the former shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, spoke nearby at the Munich Security Conference and called on US President Donald Trump to “help” the Iranian people.
Pahlavi, who has lived in exile since his father was overthrown in the 1979 revolution, urged an outside “humanitarian intervention to prevent more innocent lives being killed” in Iran.
Banging drums and chanting for regime change, the large and boisterous demonstration in Munich was part of what Pahlavi described as a “global day of action” to support Iranians in the wake of deadly nationwide protests. Pahlavi also called for rallies in Los Angeles and Toronto. German police said in a post on X that the number of protesters in Munich reached some 250,000, more than the organizers had expected.
“Change, change, regime change” chanted the crowd, as well as “Javid shah” (long live the shah)” while waving green-white-and-red flags with lion and sun emblems. Iran used that flag before its 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the Pahlavi dynasty.
Some demonstrators sported “Make Iran Great Again” red caps, mimicking the MAGA caps worn by Trump’s supporters. Many waved placards showing Pahlavi, some that called him a king. The son of Iran’s deposed shah has been in exile for nearly 50 years but is trying to position himself as a player in Iran’s future.
“We have huge hopes and [are] looking forward that the regime is going to change hopefully,” said Daniyal Mohtashamian, a demonstrator.
The crowd chanted “Pahlavi for Iran” and “democracy for Iran” as drums and cymbals sounded.
Mohtashamian said he traveled from Zurich, in Switzerland, to speak up for protesters inside Iran who faced repression.
“There is an internet blackout and their voices are not going outside of Iran,” he said.
Iranian leaders are already under intense pressure, facing renewed threats of US military action. Trump wants Iran to further scale back its nuclear program. He suggested Friday that regime change in Iran “would be the best thing that could happen.”
Iran was also the focus of protests in Munich on Friday, the opening day of the annual security conference in the city gathering European leaders and global security figures. Supporters of the Iranian opposition group People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran, also known as the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, demonstrated against Iran’s deadly crackdown on protesters last month.
“The Iranian regime is a dead regime,” a 62-year-old protester originally from Iran who gave his name only as Said told AFP on Saturday. “It must be game over.”
At a news conference in Munich, Pahlavi warned of the likelihood of more deaths in Iran if “democracies stand by and watch.”
“We gather at an hour of profound peril to ask: Will the world stand with the people of Iran?” he asked.
He added that the Iranian government’s continued survival “sends a clear signal to every bully: kill enough people and you stay in power.”
“To President Trump… The Iranian people heard you say help is on the way, and they have faith in you. Help them,” Pahlavi continued. “It is time to end the Islamic Republic. This is the demand echoing from the bloodshed of my compatriots who are not asking us to fix the regime but to help them bury it.”
According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, at least 7,005 people were killed in the crackdown, mostly protesters, though rights groups warn the toll is likely far higher. More than 53,000 people have been arrested, the group added.
Iran’s government offered its only death toll on January 21, saying 3,117 people were killed. Iran’s theocracy in the past has undercounted or not reported fatalities from past unrest.
The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the death toll, given that authorities have disrupted internet access and international calls in Iran.
date:2026-02-14 16:00:00