German police are investigating an attack on a pro-democracy vigil outside the Iranian embassy in Berlin in which three people were injured

Protesters holding a pro-democracy vigil outside the Iranian embassy in Berlin were beaten and threatened at gunpoint by unknown assailants over the weekend, German police have said.

An officer guarding the building saw three men with face coverings tear down flags and banners reading “Iranians want democracy” and “Women Life Freedom” from a caravan parked in Dahlem district, in the capital, at just after 1am on Sunday morning.

The have been numerous skirmishes near Iranian embassies around Europe since the start of the protests, triggered by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested in Tehran for wearing an “improper” hijab.

Berlin police said “the unknown persons tried to open the door of the caravan, which contained four males aged 34, 37, 55 and 63”.

In the ensuing melee, one protester was hit on the back with a wooden stick, another was pushed to the ground and a third was cut on his foot with “a sharp object, probably a knife”.

“I was running after my friend and saw that three people were beating him with fists and wooden sticks,” the 63-year-old man told the German tabloid Bild. “One man got out a knife and attacked me. My left foot was injured when I tried to defend myself.”

Two of those hurt in the incident needed to go to a hospital for treatment, a police spokesperson said.

A fourth protester told officers he was threatened with a gun. “When I tried to write down the number plate the back doors opened and a handgun was pointed at my face,” the 34-year-old told Bild. “Out of fear I hid on the ground behind a tree.”

At least 12 people were arrested in London last month after altercations with officers and among those protesting in a crowd outside the Iranian embassy in Princes Gate, Knightsbridge.

French police used teargas and employed anti-riot tactics on 25 September to prevent hundreds of protesters from marching outside Tehran’s embassy in Paris.