The UK government and the Metropolitan Police have banned the annual pro-Iranian Al-Quds Day march scheduled for Sunday, March 15, in central London. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood approved the measure late Tuesday evening to prevent serious public disorder.
This marks the first time since 2012 that British authorities have invoked the legal threshold to outright ban a protest march. Police cited extreme tensions and active threats posed by the Iranian regime to the UK and its allies following a reported early-March 2026 strike that resulted in the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The ban prohibits the main march and any planned counter-protests. British legal limits prevent the outright banning of a stationary protest. Authorities confirmed any static demonstration will be permitted but subject to strict police conditions.
The London event is organized by the Islamic Human Rights Commission. British lawmakers and security experts have frequently accused the group of maintaining direct ties to Tehran. For over a decade, the march has drawn criticism from members of parliament.
The Metropolitan Police stated that previous Al-Quds marches frequently resulted in arrests for antisemitic hate crimes. In past years, marchers flew the flags of Hamas and Hezbollah before the UK fully proscribed Hezbollah’s political wing as a terrorist organization in 2019.
Al-Quds Day was initiated in 1979 by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini shortly after the Islamic Revolution. The annual international event traditionally occurs on the last Friday of Ramadan to express support for Palestinians and oppose Israeli occupation.
Lawmakers from the Labour and Conservative parties argued allowing the march posed an unacceptable security risk while British forces remain under active threat. Authorities are deploying additional resources and surveillance technology to monitor central London for compliance throughout the weekend.