Saturday night’s event in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., was planned as a vigil for over 30,000 people killed by the Iranian regime in its brutal crackdown against protesters. But the event turned into a celebration with news that the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in the attack by the United States and Israel.
Thousands of people gathered across Washington; waved the flags of the U.S., Israel, and prerevolutionary Iran; and blasted “Y.M.C.A.,” an anthem of President Donald Trump. Many converged later at an impromptu block party outside Iran’s de facto consulate inside the Pakistani embassy.
I spoke to several Iranian Americans about their feelings at this historic moment and their hopes for the future of Iran. Everyone expressed sorrow about the Iranian protesters who were killed and saw the bombardment as fulfillment of Trump’s promise six weeks ago that “help is on the way” for Iranians seeking regime change.
The Iranian Americans I met also said that they support Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s last shah, as leader of a transitional government. Some of them also had strong words for Democrats who are opposing the attacks. Their responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
