Fury as UK mosque linked to Iran hosts tearful Khamenei vigil | UK | News
Footage shows candles flickering and mourners bursting into tears outside a north London mosque linked to the Iranian regime, as a memorial service for deceased religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spreads across Britain.
The Islamic Center of Britain, which the Express reported was currently under investigation by the Charity Commission, became a focal point of grief when photos of Khamenei were placed at its entrance and one of the mourners shouted “We will obey you, Khamenei” through the crowd.
Services, vigils and commemorations for a man who spent decades crushing domestic dissent and financing terrorist networks abroad were held at religious centers and various universities in cities as far away as London and Nottingham; Leaflets advertising meetings in Birmingham and Manchester also circulated online.
Footage reviewed by reporters at one ceremony showed worshipers bursting into tears beneath a wall-mounted portrait of Khamenei adorned with a black ribbon. The date of the recording could not be independently verified. A pamphlet promoted the event as a moment when the Muslim community would come together in “deep sadness and heartbreak” for a man it called a “great martyr.”
The Express reached out to the Islamic Center of Britain for comment by email.
‘They have British blood on their hands’
Kasra Aarabi of United Against Nuclear Iran told the Times: “These are the fits of a man who has British blood on his hands and has ordered terrorist plots on British soil. This is extremely worrying.”
At least 15 university Islamic societies across the country held their own mourning events; There was much broadcast material from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that described Khamenei’s death as martyrdom.
Outside the mosque, a mourner said to the camera: “When one Ali dies, a million are reborn.”
Aarabi said the infrastructure the Iranian regime had built in Britain was now clearly active and demanded the government take action. “They are mourning for Khamenei, they are keeping watch. It is more important than ever that Keir Starmer’s government intervenes and eliminates the ideological centers linked to the regime,” he said.
“There is a real terrorist threat from the regime and it is increasing day by day. However, the government has not been able to produce an effective policy to reduce this threat.”
The centre’s troubled history
The Islamic Center of Britain has long maintained that it plays no role in extremism, positioning itself as a purely religious, educational and social institution.
This account has been challenged many times. Express reported last year that the center broadcast Khamenei’s Ramadan speeches to his congregation every day. In a 2024 assessment, Policy Exchange described it as Iran’s nerve center, “located at the heart of the network of institutions that project influence.”
A previous investigation by the Times alleged that Revolutionary Guard officers recruited children at the center to take part in a propaganda production in which the young people declared that they were ready for martyrdom. The charity organizer stepped in in 2020 after the center held a memorial service following the death of IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani in a US strike.
