March 7, 2026, 7:30 AM EST
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LOS ANGELES – It was a tale of two protests.
Last Saturday, right in front of City Hall, hundreds of Americans of Iranian origin took to the streets to denounce the start of an unauthorized war. They chanted “Stop the war in Iran” and “We the people do not want war.”
Across town on the Westside, in a neighborhood known as “Tehrangeles,” hundreds of members of the same diaspora celebrated what they said could be the start of regime change in their home countries. They carried American, Israeli and Iranian flags, danced to loud music and celebrated the news that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameneihad been killed during joint American-Israeli strikes.
The mix of joy and anxiety among the Iranian diaspora in recent days reflects the complex emotions many are feeling over escalating violence in the Middle East — particularly those whose families fled the theocratic regime that took power after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
“Some people are so unhappy with this regime that they are saying, ‘Come and destroy this regime at any cost, even if it means destroying parts of the country,'” said Abbas Milani, director of Iranian studies at Stanford University. “Others want to get rid of the regime, but not at the cost of war. »
These divisions mark a change from earlier this year, when the diaspora appeared united in support of Iranians protesting the brutal government repression. Although many share the same goal – a free Iran – they strongly disagree on how to achieve it.
“The images of destruction and the very joyful support that some give to the idea of war have become a source of greater tension than we usually feel in the diaspora,” Milani said. “It will get harder before this wears off.”
Online, debates among Iranians have intensified since the attack on Iran. Those seen as supporting military action are labeled “Zionists,” a term that, since October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel have increasingly used. was used as an insult against Jews; while anti-war voices have been accused of being pro-regime.
Iranians also continue to argue over who should lead the country if the current government falls. Some support Reza Pahlavithe son of the last shah; others remain cautious about the return to power of someone associated with the old monarchy.
A photo of former Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi is hoisted as members of the Iranian community and their supporters celebrate in Los Angeles on February 28.Mario Tama/Getty ImagesAll this is happening as the death toll rises in Iran and internet outage Government-imposed restrictions prevent many people from contacting their loved ones. Nowruz – the Persian New Year, a time when Iranians are supposed to celebrate the start of spring and a time of renewal – is also on the horizon.
After Khamenei’s death, rumors circulated that his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, could be chosen as new supreme leader. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the country’s dominant military, political and economic force, is also poised to expand its power if it can survive the current conflict, analysts told NBC News.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump indicated Thursday that he wants to see the Iranian leadership structure completely removed and that he has a few names in mind for a “good leader.”
Americans generally disapprove of Trump’s handling of the Iran situation, according to a recent NBC News poll released earlier this week. Fifty-four percent of likely voters said they did not support Trump’s military involvement, a statistic that reflects a similar division among the Iranian diaspora.
Last year, the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that aims to “give voice to the Iranian American community,” and YouGov conducted a survey. survey which reveals that 53% of Iranian-Americans surveyed oppose U.S. military action against Iran. (Jamal Abdi, president of NIAC, said a new poll is expected to be released next week with updated figures.)
“We are not a monolith” the Iranian Diaspora Collectivean Instagram account with more than 81,000 followers, wrote in a post. “Millions of people will never share the same ideology or identity and this plurality is the strength of any free society. »
Los Angeles-based Pastor Ara Torosian, a Christian who left Iran for the United States in 2010, said it broke his heart to see the destruction of historic sites and the deaths of innocent people, especially young children.
But from his perspective, the pain people now suffer rivals that of generations of dissidents who did not support the regime. Torosian said he was imprisoned and beaten when the Revolutionary Guards found Christian objects in his Tehran home.
Like many, he rejoiced when the supreme leader was killed. “It’s not the happiness you see in the streets,” Torosian said. “We celebrate the hope that this regime will end. »
Although he has a “hateful and loving” view of foreign intervention in his country, he said his disappointment is largely directed at Iranians who totally oppose the strikes.
“We don’t want war, but at the same time, what do we do? We tried to protest the regime and they just killed more people,” he said, referring to this year’s deadly protests in Iran. “War is the only hope for a new Iran. »
Some Iranian-Americans, like New York-based activist and commentator Ariana Jasmine, said they understand the reasoning behind those who support the war. But she feels like a “black sheep” within the Iranian diaspora because she is not for it.
Instead, Jasmine said she would prefer to support an internal revolution led by Iranian dissidents, a sentiment shared by many who believe foreign intervention will only make things worse before they get better and that Iranians should have the power to decide their own future.
Although Jasmine was born in the United States, her parents moved the family back to their native Iran after experiencing racism following the September 11 terrorist attacks.
She attended school in Iran for two years, where she felt deeply troubled by the religious fanaticism of the Islamic Republic. During this period, she said she lived in a constant state of fear and paranoia, terrified of the Revolutionary Guards and their violent repression tactics, she said. Desperate to leave, she attempted suicide at the age of 13. Her parents eventually brought her back to the United States.
A woman holds photos of Reza Pahlavi and President Donald Trump as members of the Iranian community celebrate in front of the federal building in Los Angeles on February 28.Apu Gomes / AFP – Getty ImagesYears later, despite the trauma of living under Khamenei’s government, she said she still dreamed of returning to Iran.
“I miss everything,” she said. “It’s really the government and the subjugation of its people and forced religion that truly destroyed my country, not just on the surface but deep down. This kind of political trauma changes people.”
As she hears reports of airstrikes decimating neighborhoods and destroying historic sites, Jasmine says she wonders if she will ever see Tehran in all its glory.
“I would love to go back, but where am I going to go back to?” she said. “I don’t want to go back under the rubble.”
