MUNICH (AP) — Supporters ofIran's exiled Crown PrinceReza Pahlavirallied on the sidelines of a gathering of world leaders in Germany on Saturday, aiming to crank up international pressure on Tehran.
Banging drums and chanting for regime change, the large and boisterous demonstrationin Munichwas 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.
"Change, change, regime change" chanted the crowd of many thousands of people, waving green-white-and-red flags with lion and sun emblems. Iran used that flag beforeits 1979 Islamic Revolutionthat toppled the Pahlavi dynasty.
Some demonstrators sported "Make Iran Great Again" red caps, mimicking the MAGA caps worn by U.S. PresidentDonald 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 istrying to position himselfas 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. Police said at least 15,000 people attended, German news agency dpa reported.
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 renewedthreats of U.S. military action. Trump wants Iran to further scale back its nuclear program. He suggested Friday thatregime change in Iran"would be the best thing that could happen."
Iran was also the focus of protests in Munich on Friday,the opening dayof an 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 againstIran's deadly crackdownon protesters last month.
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."
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency says at least 7,005 people were killed in the protest, including 214 government forces. It has been accurate in counting deaths during previous rounds of unrest in Iran and relies on a network of activists in Iran to verify deaths.
Iran's government offered its only death toll on Jan. 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 authorities have disrupted internet access and international calls in Iran.
AP journalist John Leicester contributed from Paris.
