ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Iranian foreign ministry on Sunday summoned the British ambassador in Tehran to protest the “desecration” of the country’s flag at the embassy in London.

“The British ambassador in Tehran was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where Iran’s strong protest was formally conveyed to him,” the Iranian foreign affairs ministry said in a statement carried by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

The summoning follows alleged attacks “by anti-Iran elements on Iran’s embassy in London, the desecration of the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the interventionist remarks made by the British foreign secretary,” according to the statement.

During large anti-Iranian government demonstrations in London on Saturday, a protestor was filmed climbing the building of the Iranian embassy, taking down the Islamic republic’s flag, and replacing it with the country’s pre-Islamic revolution flag, featuring a sun and a lion.

London metropolitan police later reported that at least two protesters were arrested, “one for aggravated trespass and assault on an emergency worker, and one for aggravated trespass.”

The monarchy-era flag is often used by Iranian opposition groups who seek the restoration of power to the former Pehlavi family, an Iranian royal dynasty, who ruled the country prior to the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979.

Nationwide demonstrations in Iran began on December 27 at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, where business owners and shopkeepers launched strikes and protests over the falling value of the Iranian rial against the US dollar.

The movement later spread to other provinces, with chants increasingly targeting the state amid a surging current of anti-government sentiment.

International powers, including the UK, have condemned the Iranian authorities use of force to quell the recent protests.

Around 500 protesters have reportedly been killed by Iranian authorities since late December, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), which also reports more than 10,000 people detained during the demonstrations.

As of Sunday, the identities of 66 people “confirmed dead” had been verified, including 31 Kurds and 19 Lurs, Hengaw Human Rights Organization told The New Region.

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said those speaking protesting against the regime should not be subjected to “the threat of violence or reprisals.”

The British ambassador was previously summoned by the Iranian ambassador in September 2022 over purported “invitation to riots,” when Iran was experiencing deadly protests after the death of Zhina (Mahsa) Amini while in custody of Iran’s morality police over wearing a lax hijab.