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Anti-war campaigners expect tens of thousands to join protests in UK cities this week demanding peace between the US and Iran.
Demonstrators will fill the streets of six cities on Saturday – including London, Bristol and Manchester – to call for immediate de-escalation in the Middle East.
It comes after US President Donald Trump ordered the killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in an airstrike in Baghdad on Friday.
Iran then retaliated on Tuesday night by firing more than a dozen ballistic missiles at coalition military bases in Iraq.
Stop the War Coalition, which is organising the nationwide protest, has planned events across the UK in the next two weeks with big rallies taking place on Saturday.
Stop the War spokeswoman Lindsay German said tens of thousands are expected to march on Saturday and perhaps more if tensions continue to escalate before the weekend.
She told the Standard: “We do not want war in the Middle East and we think the killing of Soleimani was completely unjustified in international law.
“We think that the UK and US should respect the vote in the Iraqi parliament for American troops to leave.”
“We have had British and American troops there for nearly two decades and there has been growing conflict since Donald Trump came into power, especially since abandoning the nuclear deal,” she added.
Ms German said the recent events have created a “very dangerous situation” and said protesters will call for immediate de-escalation in the region.
“We think there will been sizeable numbers of the British population who will also agree with this analysis,” she added.
UK cities march on Saturday
Marches will take place in London, Chesterfield, Manchester, Newcastle, Liverpool and Bristol on Saturday, January, 11.
Londoners will gather outside broadcasting house on Portland Place at noon before marching to Trafalgar Square.
Chesterfield’s protest will begin at 1pm by the Crooked Spire in Ryneld Square while Mancunians will meet at 1pm in St Peter’s Square.
Newcastle will begin their rally at 11.30am at Grey’s Monument, Liverpool at 1pm in Bombed Out Church on Leece Street and Bristol at noon by The Fountains in the city centre.
Route and rally speakers in London
After meeting at 12pm at the BBC, protesters will march down Regent Street, across Piccadilly and into Trafalgar Square.
Here there will be a rally, followed by a performance by musician Brian Eno and a speech by Union leaders and politicians like Labour’s Diane Abbott.
Eno, who is also Stop the War president, said ahead of the march: “Is it possible that Donald Trump would foment hostilities in the Middle East to distract us from his impeachment, or as part of his re-election campaign?
“It seems unthinkable that anybody would do something so reckless. But this is Donald Trump, and The Republican Party.
“The only thing that will deter him is the knowledge that the rest of the world doesn’t want to go there with him.”
Other planned protests around UK
On Thursday, protesters will take to the streets of Birmingham at 5pm, meeting at Waterstones on Birmingham High Street.
A vigil will also be held in Edinburgh at the Wellington Statue, at the East End of Princes Street from 5.30 to 6.30pm.
In Bradford, there will be a demonstration on Sunday from 12 to 1pm at Centenary Square.
Demonstrators will also gather in Swansea on January 18 at noon by the Big Screen in Castle Square.
In Canterbury, their rally will start at 2pm on the same day in Dane John Gardens.
Finally, people Warrington can attend a protest at 1pm near The Skittles in Warrington Town Centre.
