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WATCH: Clashes ERUPT at Ayatollah vigil in Manchester as pro-Tehran and anti-regime protesters face off
Mar 6, 2026
Tensions have erupted on the streets of Manchester as rival groups clashed during a vigil for Iran's supreme leader. What began as a candle-lit gathering quickly descended into heated confrontations, with pro-Syrian supporters facing off against anti-regime protesters. Police were forced to step in as tempers flared and crowds gathered in the city centre. The demonstration took place in Manchester on Wednesday evening, where dozens gathered to mourn Iran's late leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Attendees lit candles and laid flowers, with some signs declaring that while you can kill a man, you can't kill an ideology. The vigil quickly drew the attention of opponents of the Iranian regime, many of whom arrived to protest against the clerical leadership in Tehran. Within minutes, the gathering became a flashpoint between two groups with deeply opposing views.WATCH ABOVE.
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Tensions have erupted on the streets of Manchester as rival groups clashed during a vigil for Iran's
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supreme leader. What began as a candlelit gathering quickly descended into heated confrontations
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with pro-Toran supporters facing off against anti-regime protesters. Police were forced to
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step in as tempers flared and crowds gathered in the city centre. The demonstration took place in
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Manchester on Wednesday evening, where dozens gathered to mourn Iran's late leader Ayatollah
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Ali Khamenei. Attendees lit candles and laid flowers, with some signs declaring that while
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you can kill a man, you can't kill an ideology. Another sign besides a photograph of the Ayatollah
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read, My enemies have the support of each other to kill me. Oh, heartwarming love, I have only
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your support. Loyal to Ayatollah Khamenei. But the vigil quickly drew the attention of opponents
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of the Iranian regime, many of whom arrived to protest against the clerical leadership in Tehran
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within minutes the gathering became a flashpoint between two groups with deeply opposing views
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witnesses reported shouting matches and tense standoffs as pro-terran supporters and anti-regime
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demonstrators confronted with each other footage from the scene shows police forming lines between
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the two groups as tensions escalated mounted officers and additional police units were deployed
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in an attempt to keep the crowds apart and prevent violence the vigil followed the death of iran's
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supreme leader, a figure who dominated the country's political and religious life for decades
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and an action that has been celebrated by millions of Iranians worldwide
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We were fighting anyway, even if the USA and Israel didn't help us, but now we fight with hope
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and that's something really big. So I wanted to thank Mr. President Trump and Vivi Netanyahu
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His leadership was fiercely controversial. Supporters saw him as a defender of Iran's Islamic system
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whilst his many critics accused the regime of brutal repression censorship and violence against protesters In recent months and years Iran has been rocked by widespread demonstrations and a harsh crackdown on dissent with human rights groups reporting mass arrests
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and deadly force use against demonstrators. That divide was visible thousands of miles away
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in Manchester, where two very different narratives about Iran collided on the same streets
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Anti-regime protesters said they had gathered to oppose any public mourning for a leader they
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blamed for decades of repression. Some demonstrators waved flags and shouted slogans condemning the
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Iranian government, whilst others celebrated what they described as the end of a dictatorship
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Political activist Cyrus Takizad condemned the actions of those holding vigils. How can it be that in Britain we have people crying, lighting candles for an Islamic despot
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who murdered thousands of his own civilians? Hi, thank you very much for having me here
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This is obviously clear. They're supporting the terrorists. And the terrorists obviously killed so many innocent
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took so many innocent lives during the past 47 years. Mass murdering a lot of people
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any time we had uprising against the barbaric regime. People of Iran are very peaceful people
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And they always try to keep peace and seeking for peace. But unfortunately, any time they peacefully come out and try to send out their voice
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they got killed and they got kidnapped and also injured by war bullets
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Any time when they capture people and prison them, imprison them, they start executing in silence
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And that's why we always try to get out and try to be their voice, because they cut down
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all the communication to the outside world. And unfortunately unlike your media and other righteous media to try to be our voice unlike you guys the medias I don want to tell their names but they silence us as well
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and they support Islamic Republic regime in Iran. And we are so grateful for people like you who try to be our voice
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and try to broadcast people of Iran who are hostages by Islamic Republic regime
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being killed and being tortured. Okay, Cyrus. Cyrus, I just want to ask another question. Thank you for your kind words, as well as waving Israeli flags last night, US flags, Union flags
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You also waved, of course, the pre-1979 Iranian flag, of course, with the lion on it
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But I want to get to a serious point here, and that is a lot of people are concerned that the same festering poison that drives the regime in Tehran, in Iran itself, is taking a grip on our shores here
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Do you think British citizens should be concerned about some of the messages being spread in mosques by Imams and by people who seem to think the dead Ayatollah is some kind of fallen idol, a hero
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It is a really good point. The issue is we try to say that word loudly a lot of time, which we experience all these barbaric things from firsthand
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And you can see all the footage and all the evidence what we've been dealing with
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We don't have any issue with normal people, with any religion who practice the religion peacefully and for themselves
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The issue comes along when ideologists try to take everything to extreme level
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and which normally is, you can use as example of Islamic Republic regime
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who sends a lot of Iranian funds to the modern countries to free countries like the UK to try to support terrorism and make another chaos and bring chaos to bring down the civilized country and try to control them by the ideology which now as I said
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it's extremism in different angles. It doesn't matter if far left, far right or Islamist or all sorts of the religious
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when take it to the next level, which is extremism, which take the balance away from the people
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According to reports, the counter-protest grew larger than the vigil itself, highlighting the depth and division within diaspora communities and political activists
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Police remained on the site throughout the evening, forming barriers and escorting groups away from each other as tensions threaten to escalate further
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Despite the heavy police presence, protesters continued to clash and argue across police lines
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Speaking ahead of the vigil, Greater Manchester Police Assistant Chief Constable Chris Sykes
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said officers were aware of the potential for clashes. In a statement he said
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The events in the Middle East are significant for those in Greater Manchester with ties to Iran
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and the wider region. It is understandable that these evoke a range of views and emotions
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We are aware of plans for a vigil and a nearby counter-protest in the city centre on Wednesday
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night. We are engaging with those involved as well as our partners at Manchester City Council
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Mr Sykes said that the police could not prevent the gathering from going ahead despite concerns
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Despite the confrontations, authorities focused on keeping the situation under control and ensuring that the rival demonstrations remain separated. The incident highlights just how
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entrenched the issues in the Middle East have become in British society and how quickly those
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tensions abroad can spill onto the streets of British cities today. For now, the streets of
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Manchester are calm again, but as the conflict in the Middle East rages on, the debate over Iran's
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future and support for the regime leader in Britain is far from over. To find out more about this story
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head to GBNews.com
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