Latest news with #Iranian-Americans
Politico
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Politico
America's largest Iranian diaspora is at a crossroads
Earlier this week, the Iranian-American Democrats of California held an emergency meeting to discuss the organization's next steps as President Donald Trump weighs whether to join Israeli strikes against Iran. Leaders of the group had already hit the phones in the hours and days after Israel launched its first strikes on June 12, calling all the members of the state's congressional delegation, including California Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, and urging them to prevent U.S. involvement in the attacks. For Southern California's Iranian diaspora, the nation's largest, the fast-moving conflict represents a critical moment for a politically and culturally diverse community that hasn't always gravitated to American political debates, or done so as a coherent bloc. It's also a potentially significant moment for Schiff and Padilla, who may be forced to weigh in on a deeply contentious foreign policy debate that could pit Democratic factions against one another. 'This is the time for the California politicians to speak up,' said Sudi Farokhnia, the Los Angeles-based president of the IADC. 'And not just speak up, but speak up fast and be very precise in making sure that they hold Trump to the rules and laws of this country.' More than one-third of the nearly 400,000 Iranian immigrants in the United States are in the LA area, and more than half live in California. Polling conducted by the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans last year found Iranian-Americans nearly divided on the 2024 presidential election — 45 percent nationwide backed Kamala Harris, compared with 41 percent for Trump. In heavily-Democratic California, Democratic-aligned members of the community are hoping to influence the state's Democratic elected officials. But a diverse set of backgrounds — from Muslims to Jews to Christians to Zoroastrians — and what some Iranian-American activists describe as a hesitance to publicly engage in a deeply complex issue has left the community with a relatively subdued presence in politics. And the current situation puts Iranian-Americans, many of whom fled Iran after the 1979 revolution, in a bind. They've been highly critical of the Iranian regime and would love to see it fall from power, but remain divided on what should be done to make that happen — namely, whether U.S. military involvement should be part of it. 'We are at a fall of the Berlin Wall moment in history,' said Sam Yebri, a former LA city council candidate who's been active in Iranian-American and Jewish-American organizations. 'We know that it is time for this regime to fall and for there to be a free and democratic Iranian government.' Others, including officials in the IADC, are pushing California officials to back Sen. Bernie Sanders' No War Against Iran Act, as well as legislation from Rep. Ro Khanna and other House members that would block the administration from engaging in 'unauthorized hostilities' with Iran. 'The Iranian diaspora across the globe, particularly here in Southern California, has been calling for democracy in Iran and the oppressive authoritarian government there,' said Alex Mohajer, vice president of the IADC and a former state Senate candidate. 'And yet also we don't want military intervention, and we don't want military strikes on our loved ones.' Speaking with CNN on Wednesday, Schiff reiterated his belief in Israel's right to defend itself but sharply criticized Trump for considering U.S. military action without authorization from Congress. A spokesperson for Padilla did not respond to a request for comment. For the Iranian-American community in Southern California, the conflict between Iran and Israel may accelerate a shift toward more widespread political involvement. Mohajer said the Woman Life Freedom protests of 2022, which launched in Iran and worldwide in the wake of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini's death in the custody of Iran's morality police, 'really ignited the community, and you've seen a real, newfound sense of activism.' But if Amini's death served as something of a wake-up call for young Iranians in the diaspora, activists say, now that they are engaged, they are more likely to be vocal — and speak out more forcefully for government officials, academic institutions and other organizations to push back on the Iranian regime's human rights abuses. Beverly Hills Mayor Sharona Nazarian, the first Iranian-American woman to serve in that role, argued the Israeli strikes were important in preventing the 'grave danger' of a nuclear-armed Iran. But she also said the regime needs to be brought down from within Iran. 'True change in Iran,' she said in a statement, 'must come from its own people.' This reporting first appeared in California Playbook. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every weekday.
ITV News
2 days ago
- Politics
- ITV News
Iranians in America watch anxiously from afar as their country awaits a possible US strike
Words by Producer Aisha Kherallah and video journalist Maral Shafafy. It's a humid night in New York as hundreds of people begin to gather outside the New York Public Library. This group, many of them Iranian, have come together to protest against any potential US involvement in Israeli strikes on Iran. New York is home to the second-largest Iranian population in America, surpassed by California, otherwise known as 'Tehrangeles'. Sahar opposes the Iranian regime. But she does not want to see her home country bombed. "My parents fought for freedom in Iran and paid the price for it," she told ITV News." I was born in prison. My uncle was buried in a mass grave by the Iranian regime. We still love that country and we still love our people. "We just want our people to prosper, our culture to thrive, and for our people to live their lives in peace." Israeli airstrikes on Iran began last Friday. According to the Washington-based group Human Rights Activists, Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 639 people and wounded 1,329 others. Behrooz, a US citizen, is angry at the violence his native country is witnessing. A week ago, he would have laughed at the idea that America would strike Iran. Now, it's no joke. "I think if you had asked me last week, I would have said that this would never happen," he said. "But, you know, after Israel attacked Tehran, I think all bets are off." But it would not be a question of allegiance for Behrooz. "I don't know how to think about a war because it is going to be very, very hard to be in this country - to pay taxes to a government that is dropping bombs on my people," he added. On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump did not rule out US strikes against Iran. 'I may do it,' he told reporters at the White House. 'I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do.' The decision that seems to weigh so heavily in one man's hands, is not lost on the group tonight. "It's infuriating and it's very difficult," Sahar told us." It makes us so angry that we are pawns and we are completely abandoned." As the president mulls his options, Iranian-Americans continue to fear for the safety of their loved ones.
Boston Globe
2 days ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Iranian Americans anxiously watch war unfold from afar
Valipour, a US citizen, has resigned himself to the possibility that the United States could join Israel's war against Iran. It wouldn't be a question of allegiances for Valipour. 'If there is fighting between parents, mom and dad, do I choose a side or say, 'OK, I'm going to talk to them to find a resolution?'' he said. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up On Tuesday, in one of the most vibrant Iranian American communities in the United States, uncertainty and anxiety lingered among residents, as Iran and Israel continued another day of fierce fighting. Westwood, a neighborhood on the west side of Los Angeles near the UCLA campus, is home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran. It has taken on many names, including Persian Square, Little Persia, Little Tehran, and Tehrangeles, a combination of Iran's capital Tehran and Los Angeles. Advertisement After President Trump signaled that the United States could enter the conflict against Iran, reaction among the Iranian-Americans in Westwood was a mix of dismay, concern, and hope for the possible end of the Islamic regime. Advertisement Some in the neighborhood worried the conflict could divide the community. There were those, including many Jewish-Iranians, who supported Israel's bombing campaign as a legitimate way to end the rule of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. And there were those who said they believe regime change should not come at the expense of innocent lives. Israeli strikes have killed at least 224 people in Iran, according to the country's Health Ministry, and injured more than 1,400 people. Retaliatory strikes by Iran have killed at least 24 people in Israel, identified as civilians, with about 600 injured. On Tuesday night, a man was on the phone with his father-in-law as he pulled up to Pink Orchid, a Middle Eastern bakery in Westwood. The man asked that his full name not be used, out of fear of retribution by the Iranian government if he returns to Iran. As evacuations have intensified in Tehran, the man's father-in-law was among those stranded there. Gasoline stations had run out of fuel. 'We're worried about families, our people,' the man said, adding, 'Some people couldn't coordinate, or they're too old, or they couldn't leave early enough and then they ran into gas problems.' Although he harbored no sympathy for the government and the military leaders who were killed in Israeli airstrikes, his main concern was with the safety of civilians. 'I just hope that when they consider airstrikes on western Tehran and other residential cities that they consider the fact that a lot of people don't have cars anymore, after 40 years of sanctions,' the man said. 'A lot of people don't have cars or the means to leave. So it's not as easy as just telling people to get up and go.' Advertisement Of an estimated 400,000 Iranian-born immigrants living in the United States, more than a third live in the Los Angeles region. Many live in the Westwood area, but others live across west Los Angeles, including in Beverly Hills, where Iranian-Americans have not just settled roots but have established political power. Sharona Nazarian, the mayor of Beverly Hills, fled Iran with her family in 1979, seeking refuge from religious persecution as Iranian Jews, and has lived in Beverly Hills for more than 30 years. Nazarian is the first Iranian-American woman to serve as the city's mayor. In a statement, Nazarian said she felt compelled to speak out about the tensions between Israel and Iran, and expressed sympathy for innocent civilians. 'It's important to remember: Israel's conflict is not with the people of Iran,' Nazarian said. 'In fact, the people of Israel and Iran share a long and rich history of friendship dating back to the time of Cyrus the Great. The Iranian people have suffered deeply under a regime that has isolated them from the world and placed them in harm's way.'
