North Texas protesters clash over US involvement in Israel, Iran conflict
DALLAS - Amid the news of the U.S. and Israel strikes on Iran Saturday morning that reportedly left their supreme leader dead, protesters gathered in North Texas to oppose the current regime.
At one Dallas demonstration, FOX 4 found a group united in the idea of democracy and freedom for Iranians, but there were conflicting ideas on how to achieve that and what the United States' involvement should look like.
Saturday Iran protests
When the news of the joint U.S. and Israel strike on Iran came early Saturday morning, it was met with a mix of hope and worry from Iranian Americans in North Texas.
Hesami Homeirah, a part of the Iranian-American Community of North Texas, says her people have been hoping for freedom and democracy for decades.
What they're saying:
"So as long as the regime is in power, the terrorism continues, the nuclear program continues, the missile program continues. So the real ultimate solution is to change the regime by the Iranian people and the organized resistance," Homeirah said.
And then came the news from officials that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei, and other Iranian leaders were killed in the strike.
"If it is true, we are very, very happy, because he has made crimes against humanity," Homeirah said.
The Iranian-American community hopes Khamenei's loyalists are soon to follow.
"I would say the whole regime would crumble, because that's how dictatorship is working. Just, it's just there on one person," said protester Hannah Jan. "And hopefully we will have a free Iran."
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Some oppose US involvement
But not everyone at the rally, hosted by the supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, in Downtown Dallas agreed that the attacks were a path forward.
The other side:
"I love human rights," said protester Lizbeth Martinez. "I don't like when people lose their lives because we're gonna send the soldiers, and they're starting a war."
Some demonstrators say congress should have approved any conflict started by the United States.
"It's authoritarian behavior, like, let's just call it what it is, you know, and it's scary," said Martinez.
Another Iranian American FOX 4 spoke to Saturday says the change has to come from within Iran itself.
"We need boots on the ground to overthrow this regime, but that's just the responsibility of the Iranian people, not outsiders," said Jan.
Iran protest in Dallas
Are Trump's actions legal?
President Donald Trump is operating under laws that grant him some powers to bypass Congress for targeted military operations.
Previous leaders, including former President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama, used the laws for counterterrorism operations in the Middle East.
What's next:
There’s still a lot of uncertainty about next steps, but all the demonstrators FOX 4 spoke with say they are praying for the people of Iran.
The Source: Information in this article comes from a public demonstration in Dallas and reporting from FOX Local.