MUNICH
They came by the quarter-million, drumming and chanting under gray German skies, answering a call from exile. And their message to the world was clear: stand with the people of Iran, or watch them die.
About 250,000 demonstrators flooded the streets of Munich on Saturday, police said, in one of the largest gatherings of the Iranian diaspora in recent memory.
The rally unfolded on the sidelines of a major gathering of world leaders—a coincidence of timing that amplified its urgency.
The crowds had heeded the call of Reza Pahlavi, Iran’s exiled Crown Prince, who had declared a “global day of action” to support Iranians in the wake of deadly nationwide protests.
Similar demonstrations were planned in Los Angeles and Toronto.
“Change, change, regime change!” the crowd roared, waving green-white-and-red flags emblazoned with the lion and sun—the emblem of the monarchy that ruled Iran until the 1979 Islamic Revolution toppled Pahlavi’s dynasty.
Police had expected a large turnout, but the numbers surpassed even organizers’ hopes. In a post on X, authorities put the figure at 250,000, a sea of humanity pressing against the Bavarian capital.
At a news conference, Pahlavi struck a grave tone. He warned that more deaths in Iran are inevitable if “democracies stand by and watch,” following Tehran’s deadly crackdown on protesters last month.
“We gather at an hour of profound peril to ask: Will the world stand with the people of Iran?” he said. He argued that the survival of Iran’s government sends a dangerous signal: “Kill enough people and you stay in power.”
For the exiled prince and the quarter-million who marched with him, the question now hangs in the air, unanswered.
By James Kisoo
