Crowds of Iranian-Americans took to the streets of Westwood on Saturday to celebrate the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and the reported formation of a provisional government by opposition groups, marking a moment many said they never expected to witness in their lifetimes.
Celebrations spilled into the streets near Persian Square with people waving Iranian flags, honking car horns and chanting in joy. Some danced in the streets, expressing hope for a freer Iran.
I would wait until you know who will replace Khamenei before celebrating. When despots are killed it creates a power vacuum and power vacuums tend to get filled. Maybe it will be filled with something better, maybe it won’t. That’s why killing and hoping isn’t the best strategy.
Any thoughts on Pahlavi?
The Shah became quite autocratic by the early to mid 70s or so. But I think a fair number of Iranians today feel the Monarchy was preferable to the Islamist theocracy. And it should be up to the Iranian people. But if the Iranian people can’t come to a consensus, the decision will be made for them, by the Islamists or the monarchists or the US and Israel, or someone else.
He says he has the support of the people. He also says he’s been talking to the white House so there’s that.
The two iranians I’ve spoken with are hopeful. One woman told me that she begged her brother in tehran not to join the protests - he said he couldn’t stay inside when he heard the boots of his people in the street. When the shooting began, people opened their gates and garages to give them a place to hide.
It’s really heartbreaking how many they’ve lost.
Hopeful for them but not optimistic given the US’s history of ‘assisting’ with regime change.