Protest in Brussels against deadly repression in Iran

BRUSSELS — Thousands of people are protesting in Brussels Sunday afternoon in solidarity with the Iranian people who are facing a bloody crackdown from the Tehran regime.

Protesters were seen by POLITICO around the Schuman roundabout in the early afternoon, waving Iranian, American and Israeli flags as well as pictures of Reza Pahlavi — an Iranian political activist and dissident in exile in the United States. His picture is also on a poster calling for the protest.

Organizers expect 100,000 people from across Europe to travel to Brussels for the demonstration. They are protesting “the brutal regime, which is killing people,” said Massi, who asked for her surname not to be used. “The country is rich, but even the children don’t have anything to eat,” she said.

Another participant, Ali, told POLITICO that he was protesting for the Iranian people. “For the last two weeks, more than 20,000 dead. We stand behind the people. We’re going to the European Parliament,” he said. 

Iran has been the scene of widespread and escalating unrest since the end of 2025, with protesters calling for political change in the country that has faced a sharp economic downturn. The protests in Iran have been met by increasingly brutal government crackdown, involving mass arrests, killings and a near-total internet shutdown. 

Rights organizations say that thousands have been killed and arrested during the unrest. The U.N. Human Rights Council held an emergency session on the situation in Iran and acknowledged that the violence against protesters in recent weeks has been the deadliest since the Iranian revolution in 1979.

Rights organizations say that thousands have been killed and arrested during the unrest. | Ferdinand Knapp/POLITICO

European political leaders have stepped up demands for new EU sanctions against the regime in Tehran in response to the violent suppression of mass protests across the country. 

“The EU already has sweeping sanctions in place on Iran — on those responsible for human rights abuses, nuclear proliferation activities and Tehran’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine — and I am prepared to propose additional sanctions in response to the regime’s brutal repression of protestors,” EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, told POLITICO earlier this month. 

“Europe needs to act — and fast,” European Parliament President Roberta Metsola told POLITICO. “We will support any future measures taken at EU level.” 

Metsola, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin are among those who want Brussels to escalate sanctions against Tehran.