Bay Area residents worried for friends, family in Iran following U.S. strikes on nuclear facilities
News of the U.S. becoming directly involved in the Israel-Iran confrontation has some Bay Area residents feeling the distance from their loved ones.
Arman Mahmoudi is from Milpitas, but he's also Iranian.
"Yeah, I have friends, family," Mahmoudi said about the people he knows in Iran. "I'm worried. I'm worried about what's going to go on."
Mahmoudi hasn't been able to speak to his family and friends since President Trump announced that U.S. forces struck three key Iranian nuclear sites.
"Iran's been on a shutdown, three days, the entire country, no internet," Mahmoudi said. "You haven't been able to talk to anyone on any app. Any social media app. Your only choice is a landline, and you don't know if it's safe or what you can say. It has affected the relaying of news."
Mahmoudi is an activist and organizer with Bay Area 4 Iran. The group voices their opposition to the Islamic Republic of Iran, one that they believe is shared by many Iranians.
"Giving them the perspective of what the majority of Iranians, anywhere from 75% to 85% are opposed to this government," Mahmoudi said.
But he admits the members of Bay Area 4 Iran are torn about how to view Saturday's airstrikes.
"We have a lot of varying views within our team as far as is this attack good," Mahmoudi said. "I will say if it leads us to getting closer to getting rid of the Islamic regime and lessening the chance of execution, freeing our political prisoners, giving us freedoms that the people of Iran are seeking then probably it's a good step."
When Mr. Trump addressed the nation about the airstrikes, he said that either peace or tragedy is next unless Iran immediately ceases hostilities. Mahmoudi said that through all of this, he just hopes the Iranian people will be safe.
"Our emphasis is innocent civilian lives," said Mahmoudi. "Innocent civilian lives on either side, that's what we don't want to see, the innocent civilian lives lost.
But personally, he does want to see a change in Iranian leadership.
"Iran needs a secular democracy so our people can have everyday freedoms that we are seeing in advanced countries in the free world," Mahmoudi said.
Bay Area 4 Iran will be holding a rally to stand with the Iranian people in their fight against the Islamic Republic. It will be at noon on Sunday at Harry Bridges Plaza.
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CBS News
27 minutes ago
- CBS News
Satellite photos show before and after U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities
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The images by Maxar show several large diameter holes or craters on the top of the ridge over the underground complex. Satellite photo taken on June 22, 2025, by Maxar Technologies, shows craters and ash on the ridge at Fordo underground complex in Iran after U.S. strikes. Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Technologies Additionally, several of the tunnel entrances that lead to the underground facility appear blocked by dirt following the strikes. Satellite image by Maxar Technologies shows the tunnels leading into the Fordo underground nuclear facility in Iran before U.S. strikes. Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Technologies Satellite image from June 22, 2025, by Maxar Technologies shows the tunnels leading into the Fordo underground nuclear facility in Iran after U.S. strikes. Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Technologies Asked at the briefing whether any of Iran's nuclear capability remains, Caine said, "I think (battle damage assessment) is still pending, and it would be way too early for me to comment on what may or may not still be there." Iran has yet to offer a damage assessment of the site. The United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency said in a social media post that it had seen "no increase in off-site radiation levels" in the wake of the U.S. strikes. In a statement on Sunday to the U.N. Security Council, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said his team was unable to assess the underground damage at Fordo. Following the attacks, he said there's a "window of opportunity to return to dialogue and diplomacy." "If that window closes, violence and destruction could reach unthinkable levels and the global non-proliferation regime as we know it could crumble and fall," Grossi said. 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Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Technologies At the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, a satellite image captured Sunday by Maxar shows an approximately 5.5-meter diameter hole or crater in the dirt directly over part of the underground military complex. Satellite image by Maxar Technologies shows the Isfahan nuclear facility in Iran on June 15, before the U.S. strike. Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Technologies Satellite image by Maxar Technologies on June 22, 2025 shows the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran after U.S. strikes. Satellite image ©2025 Maxar Technologies Natanz had been previously damaged by the first Israeli strikes on Iran on June 13. Grossi confirmed Sunday that the fuel enrichment plant in Natanz had been hit again, with the U.S. confirming that it used ground-penetrating munitions. He said Iran has informed the nuclear watchdog there has been no increase in off-site radiation levels following the attacks. However, bombing nuclear facilities "could result in radioactive releases with grave consequence," Grossi warned, urging "maximum restraint." U.S. military used decoys and deception in attack President Trump announced Saturday evening that the U.S. had launched strikes against Iran. He said in a national address later Saturday night that the sites "have been completely and totally obliterated." Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Sunday that the U.S. used decoy B-2 bombers, which flew west over the Pacific from their base in Missouri earlier Saturday, to throw off the Iranians from the true plans. The bombers actually involved in the strike took off on an eastward path, refueling several times on their way to the Middle East. Hegseth added that the U.S. used other methods of deception to protect the B-2 bombers that dropped the 14 "bunker-buster" bombs. He said the tactics helped the U.S. drop the bombs without tipping off Iran's fighter jets or its air missile systems. "Our B-2s went in and out … and back without the world knowing at all," Hegseth said. "In that way, it was historic. A strike that included the longest B-2 Spirit bomber mission since 2001, and the first operational employment of the MOP, a Massive Ordnance Penetrator."
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US strikes on Iran could hit American economy at a fragile time
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Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Oil prices surge 5% after US strikes on Iran with Strait of Hormuz status in focus
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