The British Iranians cheering on Israeli bombers
Israel and Iran may be two countries at war, even if a ceasefire forced by Donald Trump is officially in place, but Yachui, 31, is one of a number of Iranians for Israel who believe only the Jewish state can save the country from itself – from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, and his increasingly authoritarian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), who have imprisoned, tortured and killed many of their friends and family members.
'Israel is bombing the Islamic Republic, they are not bombing our country,' says Yachui, who left Iran when he was seven. 'And we need them to win.'
Hamas, along with Hezbollah and the Houthis, its terrorist allies, are all proxies of the Islamic Republic and since the October 7 massacre, which sparked the Israel-Gaza war, British Iranians such as Yachui have joined hands with Jewish and Israeli communities and become like family.
It is not just because they share the same enemy, but also because a victory for Israel could mean a victory for them. So, at every pro-Palestinian demonstration, they join Israel supporters in a counter-demonstration organised by a group called Stop the Hate.
It was no exception last weekend. In a crowd near Waterloo Bridge, central London, on Saturday, Iranians outnumbered Israelis – even though just a day earlier, anti-regime activists outside the Iranian Embassy had been physically attacked.
Waving not only Union flags and Israeli flags but also pre-Revolution Iranian insignia, they stood in protest against a much larger anti-Israel march that included demonstrators holding up pictures of the Ayatollah and placards reading 'No surrender' and 'Choose the right side of history.'
'There are so many of them and they have no idea what is really going on,' says Yachui, of the pro-Palestinians who create a bottleneck when they reach the counter-demonstration to scream 'shame on you' and 'murderers.' He shakes his head: 'They are supporting terrorism and they don't even realise it.'
Paris Abdy, a teacher, was four during Ayatollah Khomeini's Islamic Revolution of 1979 and remembers how 'everything changed.' 'The cartoons I used to watch on television were suddenly stopped. I was at a school run by English nuns, and then suddenly I wasn't allowed to go anymore.
'I was arrested three times – for wearing lipstick, for wearing nail varnish and for being in an ice cream parlour with the younger members of my family.
'I met Sas [my husband] at a party – we were both rebels – and he said, 'I can't stand it anymore, we have to leave.''
Like many diaspora Iranians, she began attending demonstrations in 2022 after the murder of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish Iranian killed by the morality police for not wearing her hijab correctly.
Her death sparked a wave of 'Woman, Life, Freedom' protests both inside Iran and abroad. But, while these demonstrations briefly promised a real revolution against the increasing authoritarianism of the IRGC and police – especially towards women – they ultimately led to a horrendous backlash, with up to 1,000 people killed.
For Iranians further afield, however, the protests provided a glimmer of hope. 'The young people in Iran are so brave, they are amazing,' says Abdy. 'They are fighting for [a better future], and I want to get our country back for them too.'
Sporting a placard saying 'Make Iran Persia Again' Anahita, a 49-year-old pharmacist who left Iran 21 years ago after her mother's uncle and cousin were both murdered, says her family and friends in Iran welcome Israel's attack.
'Israel is bombing the invaders of my country – the Islamic Republic,' she says. 'They all feel the same as I do and are happy that Israel is bombing them. Freedom has a price. They are ready to pay that price.'
Almost all the pro-Israel demonstrators are royalists hoping that Reza Pahlavi, the eldest son of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, will lead a new Iran. Raised mainly in America, he has promised to turn Iran into a true democracy. He has also supported the Israeli action and, in recent days, has implored the Iranian people to rise up.
The monarchists often cite the historical relationship between Jews and Iranians dating back 2,500 years – before the birth of either Mohammed or Jesus – when the Persian king Cyrus the Great freed his kingdom's Jewish slaves and returned them to Jerusalem in 539 BC. Jews have lived in Iran for thousands of years, and it is one of the few Middle Eastern countries to still have a Jewish community – around 10,000 people, down from a peak of 150,000.
Unlike with Arab states, there is no territorial dispute – Israel and Iran had diplomatic and trade ties until 1979. But, since the Islamic Revolution the country's rulers have stoked an anti-Israel fervour, leading to the establishment of a clock in central Tehran counting down the days to Israel's destruction (in 2040). The clock was bombed by the Israeli Air Force earlier this week.
However, other Iranians in the UK oppose Israel and its actions, even if they are also anti-regime. Cat, a pro-Israel activist who lived in Iran until she was 15 and uses her popular Instagram account to speak up for Israeli actions, says she is often criticised for her stance by other Iranians.
'You don't get the serial killer next door to come and help'
Cat introduces me to one friend, Ali, 52, who disagrees with her stance passionately. He believes reforms will come from a more moderate Iranian government allied with but not completely run by the Ayatollah.
'Every single Iranian who has been [hanged] and executed in the last 46 years breaks my heart; our country has been run by a murderous regime, but when you have a murder problem, you don't get the serial killer next door to come and help,' he says.
'The Zionist Benjamin Netanyahu is a genocidal man who is just trying to create chaos. He wants to turn Iran into Libya.'
He adds: 'I'd rather the IRGC stayed in power than have Israel bombing the country. I'd rather Iran solved its own problems. We don't need outside influences coming in and killing people.'
It is certainly true that the Israeli and American attacks may not have done enough to ferment internal revolution, even though Israel went as far as bombing the doors to the prison where critics of the regime were being kept. Within hours of the ceasefire, the IRGC was reported to be rounding up – and even executing – those it claimed were Mossad collaborators.
Potkin Azarmehr, an Iranian-British journalist, says one of the problems facing opponents of the IRGC is that the opposition is divided.
'In some ways the reason why the regime has lasted for so long is that its opponents refuse to come together,' he says.
'Khomeini was able to create a revolution because he had a network of mosques and so he had an apparatus to take power. But while there are lots of opposition expats calling themselves political actors, all they do is talk and host conferences.'
He believes Pahlavi is the only real opposition figure who commands at least some respect within Iran, but, of course, some see him as a traitor for siding with Israel and as a stranger who has spent most of his life abroad.
'He is probably the most popular amongst the Iranian opposition because of who he is and the nostalgia people have towards his parentage, but he doesn't have a network behind him.'
'Symbolic moments'
Azarmehr adds that the Israeli and American actions, while they did some work in dismantling the power of the IRGC, were not enough.
'People on the ground are a little bit despondent,' he says. 'They are worried that if they come out on the streets against the regime, there will be a massacre like Iran has never seen before.'
Niyak Ghorbani, a prominent Iranian dissident, 39, who has been arrested 11 times by British police for brandishing a sign saying 'Hamas are terrorists' in the middle of pro-Palestine demonstrations, talks excitedly of a new dawn for Iran. But speaking to The Telegraph after the ceasefire was announced, he too worried that the unfinished job had only made things worse.
'Israel's strikes weren't just military operations; they were symbolic moments. They sent a message to the Iranian people: We will not protect your killers. We stand with you.'
He is bitterly disappointed that the action has stopped.
'A ceasefire with the terrorist regime of the Islamic Republic reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of its true nature,' he says angrily.
'In recent weeks, Iranians who simply 'liked' pro-Israel posts on social media have received threatening messages. Let's be clear, the Islamic Republic will take revenge for its fallen commanders not by attacking military targets but by targeting civilians – first in Iran and then once again in Israel and the West.'
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