Gholhak Garden and the British embassy in central Tehran have been subject to periodic anti-Western demonstrations orchestrated by the Iranian government since the defunct American embassy has no longer been the central target after being taken over in 1979 during the Iran hostage crisis. On December 29, 2008, Iranian students stormed Gholhak Garden in protest of Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip in the Gaza War. Some 300 students managed to occupy the compound for a short time and replaced the British flag with a Palestinian one.
