Thousands march in massive Toronto rally in support of Iran protests

A john r. Major rebound in magnetic north house of york sat is calling on the Canadian government to recognize Iran's exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi as the leader of Iran’s democratic transition after anti-government protests erupted in Iran at the end of last year.

Co-organizer Aveen Ghahremani said the focus of the demonstration Saturday is to make non-Iranians aware of the revolution and get them involved.

"We're all here because of a lot of luck," she said. "Some people in Iran are not as lucky."

The message diaspora protesters hope to convey is that they stand behind those back in Iran, Ghahremani said.

People marched down Yonge Street to the beat of drums and chants of "King Reza Pahlavi.” Protesters held aloft and draped themselves in red, white and green flags emblazoned with a golden lion — the flag Iran used before the Islamic Republic came to power in 1979, toppling the previous monarchy.

Demonstrators called for an end to government repression in Iran as widespread protests inside the country have been met with violent crackdowns.

"For over four decades, the Islamic Republic of Iran has ruled through systemic repression, widespread human rights violations, political violence, and the denial of fundamental freedoms," it said. "Its political, moral, and legal legitimacy has been irreversibly eroded, and that is a reality evident both inside Iran and across the international community."

The facts about Iran protest flags

Toronto police estimated more than 200,000 people would gather at the solidarity rally, which is marching down Yonge Street Saturday. Police closed roads, including portions of Yonge Street and North York Boulevard, ahead of the protest, which they say will cause extreme traffic and transit delays.

Sarudi said Toronto police is partnering with the York Regional Police Service to ensure those at the rally are safe. He added the estimate of 200,000 people came in part from discussions with organizers.

"And it's due to the trends from other turnouts at these types of solidarity rallies, the online momentum that this is gaining and the scale of similar events across other cities in North America and across the world," he said.

The rally is one of many happening worldwide Saturday as part of what Pahlavi labelled a global day of action. Pahlavi said Toronto, Munich and Los Angeles would be the main gathering points for Iranians living abroad to protest and call for regime change in Iran.

Iran has been gripped by countrywide protests since late December, sparked by an ongoing economic crisis that has sent the country's currency into freefall. While protesters were initially focused on Iran's economy, demonstrators pivoted to calling for an end to Iran's Islamic Republic, with some supporting the return of the ousted monarchy to power.

Iran's government, which has cracked down on protests and implemented an internet blackout, said more than 3,000 people have been killed since protests broke out.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in counting deaths during previous rounds of unrest in Iran, put the death toll at over 7,000.

Saturday's rally comes two weeks after a major protest in Toronto's Sankofa Square, which Toronto police estimated was attended by 150,000 people.

There, some protesters called for international intervention in Iran and an end to government repression.

"It's hard to see that our friends and families in Iran are being kept in prison for no reason, being shot in the head for [using] their democratic voice," said Nima Najafi.

Najafi said he attended the earlier protest and described Saturday's protest as twice as large.

Iranian Canadian Jasmin Zandi, who is attending her fifth solidarity march Saturday, said her brother is a doctor back home.

"It's one thing to see the pictures and videos, but to be there, to witness what's happening, it's it's quite a lot," she said. "He's a very strong man ... But every time he calls us, he's choked up, he's crying."

"It's important to to hear our voice, their voice," she said. "We stand together, we feel their pain."

The TTC noted some service alerts on its website ahead of the rally:

In an post to social media, Toronto police also said Yonge Street will be closed southbound from Steeles Avenue for the demonstration. In an update to social media Saturday afternoon, Toronto police said Steeles Avenue is closed from Willowdale Avenue to Hilda Avenue.

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