Fringe Iranian groups cheer Trump strikes outside White House amid counter-protests
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Washington: Waving pre-1979 Iranian tricolors and lion-and-sun flags under a massive "Thank You" banner, jubilant fringe Iranian groups rallied outside the White House Sunday to hail President Donald Trump's strikes on Iran as a long-overdue blow to the repressive regime.
Chanting gratefully and dancing to drumbeats, demonstrators draped themselves in the old imperial flag alongside American ones. "Thank you so much," one woman told reporters, urging Iranians at home: "All Iranian people, we want to free run after 48 years. We wanted to run free again." Another thanked Trump and Israel for "helping the Iranian people" against a regime she accused of jailing and killing citizens: "Stay strong. It's everything gonna get changed."
Participants called the action historic after 47 years of isolation. "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," one said. "We 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."
Another deemed it "very important for all Iranians around the world," praising Trump as "the best" and ally Benjamin Netanyahu. A speaker exulted: "We are exhilarated. We're happy the Islamic regime has been taken down. We wanted the Islamic Republic and all the Islamic attorney be gone from the region, and this is the stark reality of that beautiful project."
Counter-protesters gathered opposite, decrying escalation. A Palestinian Armenian opposed involvement: "I, as a Palestinian Armenian, believe that we should not be involved in any wars. That we have nothing to do with. There's no reason for us to be in Iran at all." Another blasted the administration as "immoral, unethical, illegal": "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."
The dueling crowds underscored deep divides over the strikes killing Supreme Leader Khamenei, celebrated by some in the fringe groups as liberation, feared by others as a path to broader conflict.
(Inputs from IANS)
