London's Iranians and Jews celebrated side by side after the news came through Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had been killed on the first day of a joint operation by Israel and the US against the Islamic Republic.
After months of rallies in solidarity with protestors in Iran defying the murderous regime, hundreds took to the streets of the capital in an outpouring of joy.
Dancing together in Golders Green, north London, Iranians shouted “Long live Israel” and flew the US flag.
Their glee came amid hope that after 47 years under draconian rule by a brutal regime, their country might finally be liberated.
One Iranian expat who attended the Golders Green celebration posted: “We have been partying... it's brilliant. We have been waving our flags out of the car.”
Another wrote: “I cried... and I cheered... and I cried again… I pray for peaceful transition in Iran.”
Niyak Ghorbani, a campaigner who has spoken at nearly every Iranian dissident protest in London since they began last December, said in a video on his social media: “I’m the happiest man in the world.”
Persian and Jew celebrating together in London pic.twitter.com/rMwtXaVdNe
— Niyak Ghorbani (نیاک) (@GhorbaniiNiyak) February 28, 2026
One expat wrote on X: “Israelis and Iranians dancing side by side in London in celebration of victory over evil. Our unity against radicalism is stronger than hate.
Another post said: “How wonderful! I am so happy for both Iran and Israel and hope that the world will finally see the people of both nations for the true heroes that they are.”
After chants of “long live Israel” by Iranian dissidents in Golders Green, one post read: “Wonderful that finally Israel is being thanked. The whole world should thank Israel too.”
In the video of the Golders Green celebration, a bus driver, thought to be Iranian, can be seen with a pre-Islamic revolution Iranian flag featuring the lion and the sun. This flag has been used as a symbol of protest, denoting a call to throw off the shackles of the 1979 revolution.
Jews in Golders Green were heard chanting: “Long live the shah,” a nod to Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who has spent most of his life exiled in the US, and who some see as the rightful leader of Iran.
After the death of Khamenei, Pahlavi wrote: “The bloodthirsty Zahhak [an evil king in Iranian mythology] of our time, the killer of tens of thousands of Iran’s bravest sons and daughters, has been erased from the pages of history.”
One social media user wrote: “I hope Shah will arrive [in Iran] soon.”
After yesterday’s impromptu celebration in Golders Green, a demonstration of solidarity was scheduled to take place today outside Downing Street.
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