British-Iranians terrified regime will target them for taking to streets in UK

British-Iranians say they will not back down from protesting against the Iranian regime despite threats to their lives.

The Iranian expats told Metro they have not heard from relatives inside their homeland for weeks as the country’s clerical government brutally crackdowns on protestors.

Thousands of people have joined the demonstrations from the streets of London over the weekend, with British-Iranians burning flags of the regime and images of Ayatollah Khamenei.

The unrest risks descending into global conflict as Donald Trump threatens military action against the Iranian government.

Haleh Blake, who came to the UK at age of 14, said she was scared of reprisals for her activism but said the fear is nothing like what protestors are facing inside Iran.

She said: ‘I am terrified I will “disappear”.’ If we don’t succeed I’ll need to change my name and get surgery done.

‘But people are fighting showers of bullets in Iran. My fear does not compare.

‘People are out in crutches protesting. People with baby strollers too.’

Ms Blake co-founded the group United4Mahsa after the death of Mahsa Amini allegedly at the hands of the country’s morality police, triggering widespread protests in Iran in 2022.

Unlike three years ago, she said protestors are united by the voice of Reza Pahlavi, the son of the exiled Shah who has become a figurehead of the opposition.

Ms Blake added: ‘Crowds have been chanting his name. He has said he wants to take us to the ballot boxes.

‘We want a democratic secular country – that is the message from inside Iran.’

The 39-year-old said she knew of ‘more than 20’ British-Iranians who would return to their country of birth if the regime fell, but said protestors needed help from the West.

Ellie Borhan, 43, who came to the UK from Iran at the age of 20, told Metro many expats ‘cannot sleep’ due to the internet blackout inside Iran.

She said: ‘We have family members attending the protests and we have no idea if they are alive. We are totally disconnected.

‘There has been brutal killing of innocent people inside Iran.

‘People are saying this is the last battle. That is the main slogan that you can hear from inside the country.’

The US-based Human Rights Activist News Agency has said 490 demonstrators and 48 security personnel have been killed so far, with more than 10,600 people arrested in two weeks of unrest.

Ms Borhan, 39, is the founder of the Stage of Freedom activist group which organised the protest held outside the Iranian Embassy in London on Saturday.

During the demonstrations, one protester climbed onto the balcony of the Iranian embassy and stripped it of its flag amid anti-regime demonstrations.

She said she has continued to organise protests despite receiving ‘so many death threat messages’ for her campaigning work.

Ms Borhan called on Donald Trump to act ‘sooner rather than later’ by hitting Iranian military targets which are being used to crush dissent inside the country.

She added: ‘We also want to the UK government and the prime minister to show his support.

‘The UK has played a major role in Iranian history. Now the UK should say enough is enough, innocent people are dying.’

In a post on his Truth Social network on Saturday night, the US president said: ‘Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!’

The White House has reportedly began ‘preliminary discussions’ on a potential strike on Iran.

In a statement alongside the French President and German chancellor, Keir Starmer said he was ‘deeply concerned about reports of violence by Iranian security forces’ and ‘urge[d] the Iranian authorities to exercise restraint’.

One British-Iranian who attended the demonstrations in London over the weekend said many of his fellow expats live with a ‘constant sense of guilt’ about the ‘massacre in Iran’.

The protestor – who chose not to be named – added: ‘We are very fortunate to live in a free society.

‘In Iran, if a female member of my family wants to walk around without their hijab on, or sing on the streets, that is not allowed.

‘The level of pressure the people of Iran are facing is quite something. Their courage is incredible.’

He said many British-Iranians taking to the streets want to see the UK government take a ‘stronger line’ in supporting the Iranian people.

While he stressed that ‘no one wants to see their country bombed’, he recognised that US military action could help protestors topple the regime.

‘The Iranian people are doing what they can themselves, unarmed, against people who are blinded by their fanatical ideology,’ he said.

‘The regime is incredibly weak and hugely stretched.’

President Donald Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran.

Trump’s administration is in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but the President appeared to signal he would have to act first as the death toll in Iran mounts and the government continues to arrest protesters.

‘I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,’ Trump added. ‘Iran wants to negotiate.

Metro also spoke to one Iranian expat, 66, who witnessed the revolution in 1979 that brought the clerical regime to power before leaving for the UK.

He was nervous to share his name with Metro because of the risk of retaliation for expressing opposition to the Ayatollah.

He warned that uprising ’cause revenge and killing’ and worries that the violence won’t be over in the near future.

He said: ‘The regime won’t give up. A lot of people have been killed.

‘While the bravery has been amazing, we are worried about people losing their lives.’

The expat also expressed concerns that any foreign intervention in Iran could make the situation worse.

‘Has it helped anywhere?’ he asked, ‘Foreign intervention usually causes a curse. I don’t think it is the right option.

‘We need a proper opposition with proper leadership with roots in Iran. That can take longer. We cannot rush it. We have to be more creative.’

Heidi Alexander, the UK transport secretary, said on Sunday the government wants any transition of power in Iran to be peaceful.

She added: ‘The priority, as of today, is to try and stem the violence that is happening in Iran at the moment.’

On Saturday the government said: ‘We are deeply concerned by reports of violence against protesters in Iran who are exercising their legitimate right to peaceful protest and are monitoring the situation closely.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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