Candlelit vigil for Khamenei in UK overshadowed by larger, jubilant counter-protest

Dozens of people gathered in Manchester on Wednesday night to attend a candlelit vigil for ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Iranian supreme leader killed by Israel on Saturday at the start of the ongoing US-Israel attack on Iran, prompting a significantly larger counter-protest celebrating his death to take place nearby.

Around 100 people were estimated by local media to have attended the vigil in the center of the British city for the late Iranian leader, whose 36-year rule over the Islamic Republic was marked by his hatred of the West — particularly the United States and Israel — and his regime’s brutal treatment of the Iranian public.

By contrast, local media estimated that between 300 and 400 people, including Iranians and members of the local Jewish community, gathered for a counter-protest across the street, with heavy police presence separating the two events.

The vigil for Khamenei was promoted by the Friends of the Islamic Centre of Manchester, local media reported, although it was not clear whether the group was directly responsible for organizing the event, as posters attributed it to only “the Muslim Community.”

The Telegraph newspaper reported that the Ahlul-Bayt Islamic Society at Manchester University was also heavily involved in the vigil, and had promoted it as an event “honoring the Ayatollah.”

In images from the vigil, black-and-white photographs of Khamenei could be seen propped against walls and laid out on a table draped in black, alongside electric candles and white flowers.

A large sign on the table read “You can kill a man, but you can’t kill an ideology,” and another declared, “We stand with the Revolution,” referring to the 1979 Islamic Revolution that established theocratic rule in Iran.

Many of the attendees carried placards and photos of Khamenei, as well as Iranian and Palestinian flags. One person was seen burning a photo of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, echoing scenes from the counter-protest across the street, where photos of Khamenei were being sent up in flames.

While local media described the mood at the candlelit vigil as “somber,” the scenes from across the street were cheerful and celebratory. There, people danced in circles to Persian music while waving the pre-1979 Iranian flag with the Lion and Sun emblem in the center. Israel’s Star of David flag and the British Union Jack fluttered among the crowd as well.

Some of the counter-protesters held posters of US President Donald Trump, and The Independent reported that at one point, the disco song “YMCA” by the Village People was blasted through the speakers, apparently in a nod to the US president, who regularly plays the upbeat tune at his rallies.

Pictures of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the last shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was ousted in 1979, also featured prominently among the revelers, and video footage showed a group of protesters chanting “King Reza Pahlavi! King Reza Pahlavi!” to the beat of thumping music.

The Manchester Evening News reported that due to the heavy police presence on the street, the two events passed largely without incident, with the exception of “a few scuffles” toward the end of the night as the groups dispersed.

In an update on Thursday morning, the Greater Manchester Police said “last night’s vigil and planned protest concluded peacefully, with no significant disruption and no arrests.”

“The event concluded at 10 p.m., and both groups dispersed safely while following police instructions,” it added. “There were a small number of isolated incidents.”