Mahsa Amini death: British protest calls for global support against Iranian ‘dress code’ crackdown
Thousands of demonstrators gathered in London to protest against the Iranian government’s crackdown on women and girls who do not adhere to the country’s strict dress code.
Marching from Trafalgar Square to Parliament Square, they held placards condemning the Iranian government and chanted slogans denouncing Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
Sisters Arzoo and Nina told Sky News they were protesting to give people in Iran a voice.
“We want to see the regime gone. We want freedom for Iran,” said Arzoo.
Asked whether they believed change was possible, she replied: “Yes, we do. If people want to make a difference, this is the only time and the last chance that we have.
“A lot of celebrities and MPs are talking about it, so these protests are making a change.”
Protests have entered a fourth week after the death of 22 year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran’s morality police.
Anger at Mahsa’s death first boiled over in Tehran, Iran
Amini had been detained for alleged violations of the country’s strict dress code.
More than 150 people have been killed in widespread unrest in Iran since mid-September, according to Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights.
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Mahsa Amini. Pic: Center for Human Rights in Iran
Revolution
Another protester, Mahnaz, showed Sky News her palms painted red to symbolise blood.
“My hands are painted because there is blood on the streets. The Iranian regime is killing our children, they’re hitting their heads on the floor. The morality police are very dangerous,” she said.
“We don’t want this kind of regime in Iran. We are going to have revolution.”
Protester Mahnaz painted her hands red to symbolise shed blood
Protester Parsa Sadigh told Sky News he hoped other governments would step in to impose tough sanctions on Iran.
“We need all the help we can get to change the regime which has been adversely affecting people for over 40 years, so that we can get to restore Iran to what it should be.”
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Donald Trump has threatened Russia with more sanctions after a series of deadly strikes across Ukraine, as he said of Vladimir Putin: “What the hell happened to him?”
The US president appeared aghast at the conduct of his counterpart in the Kremlin after drone and missile attacks in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities left 12 people dead and dozens more injured.
Trump criticises Putin – latest updates
Speaking to reporters at an airport in New Jersey ahead of a flight back to Washington, Mr Trump said: “I’m not happy with Putin. I don’t know what’s wrong with him.”
“He’s killing a lot of people,” he added. “I’m not happy about that.”
Mr Trump – who said he’s “always gotten along with” Mr Putin – told reporters he would consider more sanctions against Moscow.
“He’s sending rockets into cities and killing people, and I don’t like it at all,” he said.
Ukraine said the barrage of strikes overnight into Sunday was the biggest aerial attack of the war so far, with 367 drones and missiles fired by Russian forces.
It came despite Mr Trump repeatedly talking up the chances of a peace agreement. He even spoke to Mr Putin on the phone for two hours last week.
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Hundreds of drones fired at Ukraine
‘Shameful’ attacks
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine is ready to sign a ceasefire deal, and suggested Russia isn’t serious about signing one.
In a statement after the latest attacks on his country, he urged the US and other national leaders to increase the pressure on Mr Putin, saying silence “only encourages” him.
Mr Trump’s envoy for the country, Keith Kellogg, later demanded a ceasefire, describing the Russian attacks as “shameful”.
Three children were among those killed in the attacks, explosions shaking the cities of Kyiv, Odesa, and Mykolaiv.
Ukrainian siblings Tamara, 12, Stanislav, eight, and Roman, 17, were killed in Russian airstrikes. Pic: X/@Mariana_Betsa
Before the onslaught, Russia said it had faced a Ukrainian drone attack on Sunday. It said around 100 were intercepted and destroyed near Moscow and in central and southern regions.
The violence has escalated despite Russia and Ukraine completing the exchange of 1,000 prisoners each over the past three days.
Donald Trump says he will delay the imposition of 50% tariffs on goods entering the United States from the European Union until July, as the two sides attempt to negotiate a trade deal.
It comes after the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said in a post on social media site X that she had spoken to Mr Trump and expressed that they needed until 9 July to “reach a good deal”.
The US president had last Friday threatened to bring in the 50% tariffs from 1 June, as European leaders said they were ready to respond with their own measures.
But Mr Trump has now said that date has been put back to 9 July to allow more time for negotiations with the 27-member bloc, with the phone call appearing to smooth over tensions for now at least.
Speaking on Sunday before boarding Air Force One for Washington DC, Mr Trump told reporters that he had spoken to Ms Von der Leyen and she “wants to get down to serious negotiations” and she vowed to “rapidly get together and see if we can work something out”.
The US president, in comments on his Truth Social platform, had reignited fears last Friday of a trade war between the two powers when he said talks were “going nowhere” and the bloc was “very difficult to deal with”.
Mr Trump told the media in Morristown, New Jersey, on Sunday that Ms Von der Leyen “just called me… and she asked for an extension in the June 1st date. And she said she wants to get down to serious negotiation”.
“We had a very nice call and I agreed to move it. I believe July 9th would be the date. That was the date she requested. She said we will rapidly get together and see if we can work something out,” the US president added.
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Shortly after, he wrote on Truth Social: “I agreed to the extension – July 9, 2025 – It was my privilege to do so.”
On his so-called “liberation day” last month, Mr Trump unleashed tariffs on many of America’s trade partners. But since then he’s backed down in a spiralling tit-for-tat tariff face-off with China, and struck a deal with the UK.
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Much of his most incendiary rhetoric on trade has been directed at Brussels, though, even going as far as to claim the EU was created to rip the US off.
Responding to his 50% tariff threat, EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said: “EU-US trade is unmatched and must be guided by mutual respect, not threats.
“We stand ready to defend our interests.”
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