Protesters demanding regime change in Iran converged on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, a day after President Trump said a change in government would be the best outcome for a country reeling from deadly unrest.
Earlier this month, Reza Pahlavi, the son of the country’s deposed shah and an opposition figure in exile, had encouraged protesters to take to the streets on Feb. 14 to put pressure on the Iranian government. Speaking at the Munich conference on Friday, Mr. Pahlavi renewed an appeal for American intervention in Iran.
Large demonstrations also took place in other cities across the globe, including Melbourne, Athens, Tokyo and London.
Nuclear talks between the United States and Iran were expected to resume on Tuesday in Geneva, according to two American officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy. Mr. Trump has ordered warships to the Persian Gulf, signaling readiness for a potential strike should the negotiations collapse.
Around 200,000 people attended the protest in Munich, according to Tamara Djukaric, a spokeswoman for the city’s police.
Many demonstrators waved a version of the Iranian flag that bears a lion and sun motif, which was in use before the 1979 revolution that ousted the shah. Some carried images of Mr. Pahlavi, and chanted phrases like “Regime change in Iran!” while others wore red baseball caps emblazoned with the phrase “Make Iran Great Again,” a reference to the hats worn by supporters of Mr. Trump.
The demonstrations across the globe came after weeks of protests in Iran itself, which began late December over economic issues and broadened into a nationwide movement challenging the country’s authoritarian clerical rulers. Security forces crushed those demonstrations with deadly force, killing thousands.
In London, a number of protesters took to the streets carrying photographs of family members or friends who they said were killed or detained during the recent unrest. Some staged mock killings, while others chanted slogans denouncing the government, including “Death to Khamenei,” a reference to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader.
Demonstrators also held posters of Mr. Trump or images of his posts on social media, in which he urged Iranians to continue protesting and suggested help was on the way.
Mania Shojaei, 54, said she joined the protest in London to show solidarity with the people in Iran, and knew several people who were injured in the protests.
“I am upset that the U.S. has done nothing yet,” she said. “Trump said he was ‘locked and loaded.’ We are waiting for him to do something.”
On Saturday, as protests swelled in cities across the globe, Mr. Pahlavi told reporters in Munich that negotiations would not work and that Iran’s government was “simply buying time.” He called on governments to sever the Iranian government’s financial lifelines, expel its diplomats and close its embassies. And he asked Mr. Trump to step in.
“The Iranian people heard you say help is on the way, and they have faith in you,” he said during a news conference. “Help them.”
Aaron Boxerman and Luke Broadwater contributed reporting.
Jonathan Wolfe is a Times reporter based in London, covering breaking news.
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