UK police ban pro-Iranian London march due to 'extreme tensions'

LONDON, March 11 - British police said they had banned a pro-Iranian march due to take place in London on Sunday, citing the possibility of \"extreme tensions\" with counter-protesters and the risk posed by Tehran during the conflict in the Middle East. Read more at straitstimes.com.

LONDON, March 11 - British police said they had banned a pro-Iranian march due to take place in London on Sunday, citing the possibility of "extreme tensions" with counter-protesters and the risk posed by Tehran during the conflict in the Middle East.

The Al Quds march in central London is organised annually by the Islamic Human Rights Commission, which the police said was supportive of the Iranian regime.

The threshold to ban a protest is high in Britain, with the police saying this was the first time the power had been invoked in 14 years, but the risks of public disorder were "so severe" it was right to block it. The ban also applies to any counter-protest marches.

The Islamic Human Rights Commission has previously said on X that the march was being held in support of Palestinian liberation.

Police said that previous Al Quds marches have resulted in arrests for supporting terrorist organisations and anti-Semitic hate crimes, and said that even with the ban in place they were facing a "challenging, potentially violent weekend".

"We have taken into consideration the likely impact on protests of the volatile situation in the Middle East, with the Iranian regime attacking British allies and military bases overseas," the police statement published late on Tuesday said.