Some San Diego Iranians respond positively to Iran strikes

San Diego’s Iranian community is celebrating recent strikes in Iran, saying loved ones back home believe the action could mark the beginning of the end of the Islamic regime.

Several Iranians in San Diego told NBC7 their friends and family in Iran are not taking shelter, but instead gathering in the streets in celebration, despite communication blackouts in the country.

“Incredibly happy, finally they heard our voice,” Peymaneh Khodayari said.

Khodayari said she learned about the strikes through the news and initially could not believe what she was seeing.

“Oh, my God, is that happening finally? Because we were waiting for a long time,” Khodayari said.

Kamran Amintaheri said he first saw reports of the strikes on social media.

“We saw the Instagram and we broke, all the Iranians, because two months we are not doing anything but monitoring Iran,” Amintaheri said.

Both said communication lines in Iran have been cut for weeks. Khodayari said she was briefly able to contact her family before signals were cut again after the strikes.

“They, instead of, hiding in the shelters, they were out dancing in the street,” Khodayari said.

“People in Iran are dancing, people in Iran are dancing,” Amintaheri said.

Both Khodayari and AminTaheri come from Iranian military families and said they understand the toll war can take. Still, they believe change is necessary.

“When the war happened, everyone has to a little bit sad. But in Iran this is not happening. They are very happy,” Khodayari said.

“47 years since every Iranian is fighting for freedom. Many thousands and thousands, and thousands of people have been killed, kidnapped, prisoned,” Amintaheri said.

Khodayari said many Iranians want a new form of government.

“We don’t want this regime. We already chose our leader. Rizal Pahlavi is our leader. And the people just want to change the government. We don’t want any Islamic republic in Iran. We want a democracy,” Khodayari said.

“All the people are united, we have a leader, the prince,” Amintaheri said.

“Long live Reza Pahlavi,” Khodayari said.

As rallies supporting Iran continue weekly in San Diego, Amintaheri invited people of all nationalities to join.

He said the movement is not just about Iran, but about humanity.

This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication.