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  "path": "/news/birmingham-news-protesters-israei-flag-ayatollah-vigil",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-06T16:09:30.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Keir Starmer accused of being 'crushingly naive' after calling for a 'diplomatic' Iran de-escalation",
    "Donald Trump says he must approve new Supreme Leader and warns Iran surrender or 'guaranteed death'",
    "Keir Starmer urges Donald Trump to negotiate with Iran as PM calls for 'de-escalation'",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nIranian regime supporters took to the streets of Birmingham last night to hold a vigil to mourn the passing of former ayatollah Ali Khamenei.\n\nProtesters torched an Israeli flag while chanting “death to the IDF”, prompting West Midlands Police to launch an investigation.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThey gathered at the Reza Cultural Centre with signs in support of the regime.\n\nAmong the protesters was convicted terrorist Shahid Butt, 60, who is a candidate in the May local elections in the Sparkhill area of the city.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nButt was convicted of terrorism in Yemen in 1999 after plotting bomb attacks on Western targets including the British consulate in Aden. He was jailed for five years.\n\nThe vigil descended into chaos when anti-regime protesters turned up to condemn the marchers.\n\nA spokesperson for West Midlands Police said: “We’re investigating racially/religiously aggravated public order following a gathering yesterday in Birmingham.”\n\nA similar protest was held in Manchester the previous night when images of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, were set alight.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe Manchester event was advertised as “honouring the ayatollah” and also saw clashes.\n\nKhamenei’s brutal regime violently cracked down on dissidents, killing thousands in January during protests against the leader.\n\nHe was killed in US and Israeli-led strikes on Iran on Saturday, plunging the Middle East into a full-blown conflict.\n\nIran has since launched attacks on US and Israeli targets in nations across the Gulf.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * Keir Starmer accused of being 'crushingly naive' after calling for a 'diplomatic' Iran de-escalation\n  * Donald Trump says he must approve new Supreme Leader and warns Iran surrender or 'guaranteed death'\n  * Keir Starmer urges Donald Trump to negotiate with Iran as PM calls for 'de-escalation'\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nAn Iranian drone also targeted the UK’s RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus, and Britain’s response has been widely criticised.\n\nAir defence destroyer HMS Dragon is not expected to sail to the eastern Mediterranean until next week and France and Greece have deployed military assets to defend Cyprus.\n\nCyprus is not a member of Nato.\n\nTwo Wildcat helicopters armed with drone-busting missiles are set to arrive in Cyprus on Friday.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nPermission to allow the bases to be used against Iran’s missile sites was only granted on Sunday after Tehran had launched a wave of retaliatory attacks against countries across the Middle East.\n\nGB News’s Home and Security Editor Mark White said on GB News there are “real concerns” about the conflict widening, meaning Britain could eventually be dragged in whether it likes it or not.\n\n“There are many in military circles who would say, whatever the issues around the US and Israel and whether they should have gone into this conflict in the first place, we are past that point now”, he said.\n\n“Our sovereign airbases, our citizens and allies are being attacked. Is it time to get involved now and finish the job?”\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards:The GB News Editorial Charter **",
  "title": "Protesters burn Israeli flag at pro-Ayatollah vigil in Birmingham while chanting 'death to the IDF'"
}