As soon as it gets dark, the phone flashlights go up. Night falls and a march of hundreds, if not thousands, of demonstrators moves at walking pace from Dam Square to Rokin. “SOS Iran,” it sounds. “Fuck Fuck Khamenei”, and “Freedom for Iran”.
The march is therefore an Amsterdam version of the now worldwide solidarity demonstrations with the Iranian people. Since the end of last year, there have been massive demonstrations in Iran against the oppressive regime led by Ayatollah Khamenei and the economic malaise in the country.
The regime is trying to suppress the uprising with great violence. According to the latest figures, around three thousand people have now been killed, a number that may be much higher. The country has been cut off from the internet for several days. Where demonstrations arise, the power is sometimes temporarily turned off, which demonstrators respond by turning on the flashlights on their phones en masse.
Hence the lights on the Rokin, says Pouneh Safari, a man in his fifties with red lipstick. She fled Iran but still has many friends and family there. Her last message to a friend in Tehran – “How are you?”, before the internet blockade – went unanswered. What remains are the terrible images that fill her Instagram feed, she says. “Here, look.” She picks up her phone and shows a video of shots being fired at demonstrators. “It is a bloodthirsty regime. That must change.”
Flags from the time of the Shah
The demonstration was organized by Yasmin Katibai (43), a teacher from Hoofddorp who fled the regime in Iran with her parents. “We have to do our part,” she says. “The people in Iran cannot do it alone. Outside help is needed.”
That belief is widely shared in the march. In addition to the Iranian flags from before the Islamic Revolution, from the time of the Shah’s secular rule, many Israeli and American flags fly.
American, Israeli and Iranian flags from before the Islamic Revolution, on Dam Square in Amsterdam on Wednesday.
Photo Zara Nor
The demonstrators see Israel and the US as allies in the fight against the strict Islamic regime in Iran. “Mr. President Trump, please help the people of Iran,” reads an A4 sheet that Ramin and Kamran, both in their forties, surnames known to the editors, have pasted onto an American flag.
“We just met on the train,” says Ramin. “He saw my A4 sheet, I saw his flag, and then we started talking.” Trump and Netanyahu are the only world leaders they still have confidence in, Ramin says. At least they really put pressure on the regime, Ramin believes, unlike European countries that hardly impose sanctions.
In Iran, the power is sometimes turned off in neighborhoods where demonstrations occur. Demonstrators then turn on their phone lights en masse. “Hence the lights on the Rokin”
He was therefore pleased when the US arrived in June 2025 bombed Iran. “Now he must attack the regime,” says Ramin. Not everyone thinks this way, Katibai (43) knows. She herself had mixed feelings about the American attacks, she says. “No one wants their country to be bombed. But when you have no hope anymore…”
“Look, you hear that!” Pouneh Safari pricks up her ears. “Long live Pahlavi”, “long live Pahlavi”, is what sounds from the march. The demonstrators sing the praises of Reza Pahlavi, the eldest son of the Shah of Iran, who was deposed in 1979, who has been opposing the current regime from the US for years. He now presents himself as the leader of the demonstrations, but there is much uncertainty among experts about how large the support base is of the 65-year-old ‘crown prince’, who is a fan of Trump and speaks positively about Israel.
During this march, however, many demonstrators hold his image aloft. Pahlavi is popular here because of the democratic and secular ideals for Iran that he exhibits. “He is our only hope,” says Kamran. Safari: “He has good plans for the country and wants to organize elections. He wants democracy, just like here.”
In addition to refugee Iranians, the demonstration also attracts Christian and Jewish Dutch people, it is noticeable. Before the demonstration, the pro-Israel organization Stand With Us made a call to come to the demonstrations. Organizer Katibai (43), who also visits pro-Israel demonstrations, was happy with that call. “I support them, they support me. All support is welcome.”
Praying for Iran
“Bring your Israeli flags,” said the Stand With Us announcement. Ingrid van Hoogdalem (67) responded. Normally she demonstrates weekly on the Coolsingel in Rotterdam for the transfer of the last body of an Israeli hostage who died in Gaza, but now she wants to support the Iranians against the Iranian regime. “I especially find it very sad that there are Christians in Iran who cannot live freely.”
Next to her is Vincent van der Horst (43), who has wrapped himself in an Israeli flag. They know each other from a Christian app group for people who pray for Israel. “Now we also pray for Iran,” says Van der Horst. His voice barely rises above the slogans for Reza Pahlavi. Is he, like the Iranians here, also in favor of the Iranian crown prince?
“Reza, who is that?
“From the shah,” says Van Hoogdalem.
“Oh, I don’t actually know that one.”
Not everyone is happy with the Israeli flag display, as became apparent during the march. A few times a bystander shouts “Fuck Israel” at the demonstrators. A man in his seventies who has been demonstrating for Palestine on Dam Square for ten years finds the flags “provocative”. As soon as the march approaches the Rijksmuseum, a passing runner pulls an Israeli flag from a man’s hands and throws it into the water.
ran Protest Dam Amsterdam 140126 Zara Nor
Zara Nor
But otherwise it remains quiet, while the procession slowly moves through Amsterdam. Once they arrive at Museumplein, the crowd stops in front of the American consulate. The front line unfolds a meter-long flag of Iran before the Islamic Revolution. An emergency generator is activated to shout slogans even louder with a speaker. “SOS Iran,” they shout towards the consulate, although no one seems to be there: there are no lights on anywhere.
New friends Ramin and Kamran hold their American flag aloft one more time. An extra sticker has now been placed on it: the flag of Israel.
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