New to this? Here's what's going on.
You don't need to be Iranian — or already informed — to care about what's happening in Iran. Here is a five-minute introduction for Yorkshire residents who want to understand it.
The Islamic Republic, in one paragraph
Since 1979, Iran has been ruled by a small group of clerics who hijacked a popular revolution and have crushed every attempt at reform since. They execute their critics, jail women for not covering their hair, persecute religious minorities, and run a vast network of paramilitaries and proxies across the Middle East.
Woman, Life, Freedom
In September 2022, 22-year-old Mahsa (Jina) Amini was killed in custody after being arrested for "improper" hijab. Iran erupted in months of protest led overwhelmingly by young women. The regime responded with live ammunition, mass arrests and executions. The movement has not gone away.
Why it matters in Yorkshire
The IRGC — the regime's military and terror arm — has run plots, kidnap attempts and intimidation operations on British soil. Iranian-made drones kill Ukrainians weekly. Iranian dissidents in our own communities live under regime threat, here, today. This is not foreign news.
What you can do
Come to City Hall on a Sunday — Iranian or not, everyone is welcome. Write to your MP. Write to your councillors. Tell a friend. The Iranian people are doing the brave work; we are asking Yorkshire to stand with them.
Write to your MP Read more about us
What we stand for
An end to the Islamic Republic
The regime in Tehran is the single greatest source of suffering for the Iranian people. We call for its peaceful, irreversible end.
A free, secular Iran
We stand for a sovereign Iran where every citizen — woman, man, Persian, Kurd, Azeri, Baluch, Arab — is equal before the law.
Solidarity from Yorkshire
Pressure from the diaspora matters. We meet, we march, we write to our representatives, and we keep Iran on Britain's agenda.
Looking after each other
We are a community as much as a campaign. We support newly-arrived Iranians in Yorkshire and stand with members whose families are still in Iran.
The Lion and the Sun
We carry the historic flag of Iran — green, white and red, with the Lion and Sun. It belongs to every Iranian, before and beyond the regime that has hijacked our country.
Honour the dead, free the prisoners
For Mahsa, Nika, Sarina, Armita, and every name the regime tries to erase. For the journalists, the lawyers, the students still in its prisons. We do not look away.
What comes after: a constitutional monarchy
Removing the Islamic Republic is necessary — but it is not enough on its own. Iran needs a stable, peaceful path forward, and we believe constitutional monarchy is the only credible one. We stand with His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi.
A figure who unites
Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi is recognised across Iran — secular and religious, men and women, every ethnicity — as a credible, non-sectarian figure for a peaceful transition. He seeks no office. He asks the Iranian people themselves to choose their future government in a free referendum.
Continuity, not chaos
The institutions Iran will need on day one — police, courts, civil service, schools, the armed forces — must keep working. A constitutional monarchy gives those institutions legitimacy and a focal point for national loyalty. The alternative is a vacuum that ends in factional warfare.
Modern, secular, parliamentary
The constitutional monarchy we support is parliamentary and secular — in the same family as the United Kingdom, Spain, Sweden and Japan. The Shah reigns; the people, through their elected parliament, govern. There is no role for clerics in government.
Pluralism, equality, the rule of law
A free Iran must guarantee equality for every citizen — woman and man, Persian, Kurd, Azeri, Baluch, Arab, Jew, Christian, Bahá'í, atheist. The constitutional monarchy is the framework; the rule of law and equal rights are the substance.
Learn more about Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi
Why proscribe the IRGC?
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is not a normal army. It is the regime's ideological enforcer at home and its terror franchise abroad — and its reach now extends into our own streets. Sir Keir Starmer has committed to proscribing it. We are pushing Parliament to deliver.
What the IRGC is
A parallel military answerable to the Supreme Leader. It controls a vast economic empire, runs the regime's missile and drone programmes, and directs the Quds Force, the Basij paramilitary, and a network of proxies across the region.
What they do inside Iran
The IRGC and Basij are the boots on the ground that kill protesters, beat women in the street, raid homes, torture detainees, and run the courts that hand down executions for "waging war against God".
What they do in Britain
The Metropolitan Police and MI5 have publicly disclosed multiple IRGC-linked plots on UK soil. The threats against the Iran International newsroom in London forced a British media organisation to relocate. Iranian dissidents in Yorkshire are intimidated by regime networks here, today.
What proscription would mean
Membership of, or support for, the IRGC would become a criminal offence under the Terrorism Act 2000. Funds would be frozen. Recruiters and propagandists could be charged. The regime's networks in the UK would lose their cover.
Ask your MP to deliver on the pledge
Common questions
The questions people ask us most often before coming along for the first time.
I'm not Iranian. Am I welcome?
Yes — very much. Many of our regulars are British neighbours who simply think the Iranian people deserve better. You don't need any background, you don't need to speak Persian, you just need to turn up.
Is it safe? Will I be photographed?
The gathering itself is peaceful, lawful, and coordinated with South Yorkshire Police. We have never had an incident. The regime does sometimes photograph protesters abroad — we never photograph our members without consent, and if you would prefer to stand at the back, that is completely fine.
Are you affiliated with a political party or foreign government?
No. We are not a registered party, not a charity, and not funded by anyone. We are a grassroots group of Iranians and friends of Iran in Yorkshire. We do not accept funding from any state.
Will I be asked for money?
Never. There is no membership fee, no collection bucket, and no donation request. Coming, listening and telling a friend are the only things we ever ask of you.
Can I bring my children?
Yes — please do. Sunday gatherings are family-friendly and children are very welcome. Bring snacks; Sheffield winters bite.
I can't make Sundays. What else can I do?
Please write to your MP and your councillors — that helps as much as physically being there. Share the site with one friend. And come along the first Sunday you can.
How you can help this week
- Come to City Hall this Sunday, 12pm–2pm.
- Write to your MP — five minutes, template included; ask them to deliver on Starmer's IRGC pledge.
- Write to your councillors — ask them to sign the pledge and table a motion at full council.
- Bring one friend. Numbers are how we are heard.