Washington, March 1 – Beneath fluttering flags depicting a lion and the sun, and a large banner that read “Thank You,” a jubilant group of Iranian Americans gathered outside the White House to celebrate President Donald Trump’s strikes against Iran, calling them a long-awaited blow against a regime they say has ruled through fear for decades.
Some draped themselves in the pre-1979 Iranian tricolour. Others raised American flags and chanted in gratitude.
“I wanted to talk to President Trump. Thank you so much,” one woman said. When asked what she wanted to convey to Iranians watching from afar, she replied: “All Iranian people, we want to be free after 48 years. We wanted to be free again.”
The mood was a mix of celebration and release. People held up their mobile phones to record speeches and chants. A makeshift sound system amplified voices that described the strikes as historic. One young woman beat a drum while others danced in a circle.
One woman said she was there “to thank President Trump and Israel for helping the Iranian people.” She accused the Iranian regime of “taking hostages, all the Iranian people inside, they are killing them, they are taking them to jail, and it’s terrible.” Her message to the President was direct: “Thank you so much. You keep your word, and we appreciate it.” To people inside Iran, she added: “Stay strong. Everything is going to change.”
Another demonstrator framed the strikes as long overdue. “We love what he's doing. He's supporting the people of Iran against the regime. He's the first one after 47 years, he's defending us.” She continued: “We, the Iranian people, wanted this war. We wanted the regime gone. We are grateful to President Trump, we thank the USA and Israel for helping us.”
A third participant described the day as “very important for all Iranians around the world” and said, “We thank him. We thank him. He’s the best in the world.”
Another speaker framed the moment in sweeping terms. “We are exhilarated. We’re happy the Islamic regime has been taken down. We wanted the Islamic Republic and all the Islamic lawyers to be gone from the region, and this is the stark reality of that beautiful project.” She added that “the Iranians are very happy to support Donald Trump for what he did and Bibi Netanyahu.”
The flags and chants were not without opposition.
Across the avenue, on the other side of the White House, another group gathered to condemn the strikes and warn against escalation.
“I, as a Palestinian Armenian, believe that we should not be involved in any wars. We have nothing to do with it. There's no reason for us to be in Iran,” one protester said. She alleged that the move was “only because Trump is worried about the Epstein files getting out and he's trying to find a distraction, and he's a puppet of Netanyahu.” Her message to the President was blunt: “Get out of the White House. You don't belong there.”
Another man said, “We are protesting almost everything that this government has done, this administration, it's horrible, unbelievably bad and immoral, unethical, illegal against everything that anybody believes in except him.” He warned, “We don't need another war. We don't need a war with Iran. It's going to spin out of control.”
The two demonstrations reflected a broader divide over Washington’s latest military action in Iran. For some in the Iranian diaspora, the strikes symbolized liberation and the possibility of political change after decades of repression. For critics, they raised fears of another prolonged conflict in a region already shaped by instability.
