Iranian Exiles Protest, Demand Raisi’s Prosecution

Iran's President-elect Ebrahim Raisi speaks during a news conference in Tehran, Iran June 21, 2021. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iran's President-elect Ebrahim Raisi speaks during a news conference in Tehran, Iran June 21, 2021. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
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Iranian Exiles Protest, Demand Raisi’s Prosecution

Iran's President-elect Ebrahim Raisi speaks during a news conference in Tehran, Iran June 21, 2021. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iran's President-elect Ebrahim Raisi speaks during a news conference in Tehran, Iran June 21, 2021. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Supporters of Iran's exiled opposition rallied in Berlin and elsewhere on Saturday to demand the prosecution of newly elected president Ebrahim Raisi whom they accuse of crimes against humanity.

Flag-waving demonstrators rallied at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate and other locations as part of a Free Iran World Summit that featured speeches by former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, Reuters reported.

In a keynote address, Maryam Rajavi, president elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, accused Raisi of being the "henchman" responsible for the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in 1988.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have said Raisi's election was a blow for human rights and called for him to be investigated over his role in what they and Washington have called the extrajudicial executions of thousands of political prisoners.

In an online address, Pompeo described the Iranian presidential election as "in fact, a boycott and the regime knows it". "This is a show laid bare for the entire world to see," Pompeo said.

Pompeo denounced Raisi as a leader who had been hand-picked by Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei to "inflict pain, frighten, continue to loot, and to plunder".



Governments Scramble to Evacuate Citizens from Israel, Iran

Pakistani pilgrims evacuated from Iran walk across the Pakistan-Iran border at Taftan, Balochistan province on June 18, 2025, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran. (Photo by Banaras KHAN / AFP)
Pakistani pilgrims evacuated from Iran walk across the Pakistan-Iran border at Taftan, Balochistan province on June 18, 2025, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran. (Photo by Banaras KHAN / AFP)
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Governments Scramble to Evacuate Citizens from Israel, Iran

Pakistani pilgrims evacuated from Iran walk across the Pakistan-Iran border at Taftan, Balochistan province on June 18, 2025, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran. (Photo by Banaras KHAN / AFP)
Pakistani pilgrims evacuated from Iran walk across the Pakistan-Iran border at Taftan, Balochistan province on June 18, 2025, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran. (Photo by Banaras KHAN / AFP)

Governments around the world are attempting to evacuate thousands of their nationals caught up in the rapidly spiraling Israel-Iran conflict, organizing buses and planes and in some cases assisting people crossing borders on foot.

Foreigners have rushed to leave both countries after Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign last Friday targeting Iran's nuclear and military facilities, sparking retaliation from Tehran.

But with Israel's air space closed and the two countries exchanging heavy missile fire, many people are being evacuated from third countries.

European countries have already repatriated hundreds of their citizens from Israel.

The Czech Republic and Slovakia said Tuesday they had taken 181 people home on government planes.

"It was not possible to send the army plane straight to Israel," the Czech defense ministry said in a statement, citing the air space closure.

"The evacuees were taken to an airport in a neighboring country by buses. They crossed the border on foot."

The German government said flights were scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday via Jordan, while Poland said the first of its citizens were due to arrive back on Wednesday.

Greece said it had repatriated 105 of its citizens plus a number of foreign nationals via Egypt, while a private plane with 148 people landed in the Bulgarian capital Sophia on Tuesday.

The US ambassador to Israel on Wednesday announced plans for evacuating Americans by air and sea, AFP reported.

The embassy is "working on evacuation flights & cruise ship departures" for "American citizens wanting to leave Israel," Ambassador Mike Huckabee posted on X.

Australia has started evacuating around 1,500 citizens from Iran and more than 1,200 from Israel -- but missile barrages have made it too risky for civilian aircraft to land in either country, it's foreign minister said.

"There's no capacity for people to get civilian aircraft in, it is too risky, and the airspace is closed," Foreign Minister Penny Wong told national broadcaster ABC.

"We have taken the opportunity to get a small group of Australians out of Israel through a land border crossing.

"We are seeking to try and do more of that over the next 24 hours."
Pakistan has shut its border crossings with neighboring Iran, except to Pakistanis wanting to return home.

Around 1,000 Pakistanis have fled so far, including at least 200 students.
The foreign ministry said the families of diplomats and some non-essential staff from Iran had been evacuated.

Around 110 Indian students have been evacuated from Iran on a special flight from Armenia, India's foreign ministry said Thursday.

New Zealand said Thursday it had closed its embassy in Iran, evacuating two staff members and their family to Azerbaijan by land.

"If and when opportunities arise to assist the departure of other New Zealanders in Iran and Israel, we will pursue them with urgency," Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.

Japan has ordered military planes to be on standby for around 1,000 Japanese nationals believed to live in Israel, and around 280 in Iran, according to government ministers.

The Japanese embassies in Iran and Israel are preparing to use buses to evacuate citizens to neighboring countries, a government spokesman said, as the war entered its seventh day.