12 arrested at banned annual al-Quds Day protest in central London

Hundreds of people turned out in London Sunday for an annual al-Quds Day march banned by the government after police said it was organized by a group “supportive of the Iranian regime.”

British police said in a statement they had arrested 12 people and were investigating anti-Israeli chants allegedly made at the rally.

Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood said earlier this week she had agreed to the ban to “prevent serious public disorder” in the context of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, where, since February 28, Iran has been launching missile and drone attacks across the region in retaliation against a US-Israeli offensive.

It was the first time a protest march in the British capital was banned since 2012, but a static demonstration was permitted, according to London’s Metropolitan Police.

Around 1,000 police officers were stationed in the area, The Guardian newspaper reported, tasked with keeping apart demonstrators and counterprotesters by allowing them to gather on opposite sides of the River Thames, not far from Parliament.

Anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protesters who were directed to the south side of the river waved flags and held up placards with slogans such as “Stop Israeli war crimes,” in a reference to Israel’s offensive in Gaza in response to the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led onslaught.

“What has happened to the Palestinians is so unjust,” pensioner Jean Apps, 81, from Purley in south London, told AFP. “And now I am here also because of the illegal attacks on Iran. I know Iran is not perfect, but the Iranian people should be left to sort out their own problems.”

Arrests and chants

Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said police had made 12 arrests, “including for showing support for a proscribed organization, affray and for threatening or abusive behavior.”

“We are also investigating chants made by a speaker” at the protest, which marked al-Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, an annual pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel event on the last Friday of Ramadan, he added in the police statement.

Videos online showed protesters chanting, “Death to the IDF,” while others were carrying posters of Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, as well as Iranian and Palestinian flags.

Bobby Vylan delivered a speech at the Al-Quds Day demonstration in London, ending his speech with 'death to the IDF' chants. pic.twitter.com/xYTXdsckdc

— PALESTINE ONLINE ???????? (@OnlinePalEng) March 15, 2026

The “Death to the IDF” chants were led by Bobby Vylan, a member of the punk-rap duo Bob Vylan, who was investigated by police after he led the same chant at the Glastonbury music festival last year. The investigation was ultimately dropped.

“We recognize the concern footage and chanting like this causes, particularly with London’s Jewish communities,” the Metropolitan Police said on X.

The Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), a nonprofit that organizes the annual al-Quds Day march, condemned the decision to ban the event, calling the move “politically charged.”

The march was an “international demonstration… in support of Palestinians and all the oppressed around the world,” the group added after the ban was announced.

On the other side of the river, counter-demonstrators waved US and Israeli flags along with the old Lion and Sun Iranian flag favored by exiles.

They chanted, “Long live the king,” referring to Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah, who was ousted by the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

“We are supporting the king of Iran, we are asking America and Israel to help us eliminate the IRGC” — Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — said Shiva, 37, an Iranian chef living in London.

“They don’t care about the people, they are just killing us. It’s a cruel regime.”