One week after the United States and Israel launched military strikes across Iran on Feb. 28, Albuquerque saw two separate rallies take place on Saturday, March 7, each shining a light on the contrast of perspectives among the community.
One rally occurred on Girard Boulevard and Central Avenue at the University of New Mexico monogram where demonstrators, thankful for U.S. and Israeli intervention, called for an Iranian regime change.
Another rally took place at Robinson Park, where anti-war protesters rallied against the intervention.
Since the war began, seven U.S. service members have died, according to the
the New York Times, and many Americans have been stranded abroad including an Albuquerque couple, according to KRQE.
In Iran, the U.S. strikes killed former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and hundreds of military personnel and led to the deaths of 175 people, most being children, when a U.S. airstrike destroyed an Iranian girls’ school located near a naval base, according to the New York Times.
Central and Girard rally
Amin Maghareh, an attendee of the Central and Girard rally, spoke to a crowd of about two-dozen people.
“This very moment feels like a rare opportunity. The (Iranian) regime appears weaker than it has ever been in years,” Maghareh said.
Demonstrators chanted the name of exiled Crown Prince of Iran Reza Pahlavi, “Freedom for Iran,” “Thank you USA troops,” “Thank you Trump” and “Thank you Netanyahu.”
Rally attendee Siavash Amiri said he came to the U.S. to leave the regime in Iran.
“We are organizing a protest to support Iranian people who have been killed by Iran’s Islamic Republic regime,” Amiri said. “We are so worried about our families in Iran, about the situation in Iran, but we are hopeful that these attacks can be ended to change the Islamic Republic regime and it can be a better future for Iranian people.”
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Protesters waved American flags and flags with a crest of a lion and a sun, the flag of the Pahlavi dynasty and Iran prior to the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
“(The flag) is a symbol of unity and power. It’s gonna be our new flag after this regime change,” Amiri said.
UNM faculty member Sara Nozadi, who was born in the U.S. from an Iranian family, said she lived in Iran for 20 years under the regime before she moved back to the U.S.
“For me, it’s at least a 30-year dream that came true when (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) was killed,” Nozadi said.
Thousands to tens of thousands of people were killed in Iran by the regime in the January anti-government protests, according to The Guardian.
Both Nozadi and Amiri said they have family in Iran who they haven’t spoken to because of an internet shutoff.
Robinson Park rally
Protesters at Robinson Park chanted “hands off Iran” and “no war in Iran,” and speakers shared concerns about U.S. service member and civilian deaths in the Middle East.
Donovan Glasgow helped organize the rally with the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
“We’re out here to make our voices heard that we are opposed to Trump’s illegal and unprovoked war,” Glasgow said.
This was the third protest the PSL organized in opposition to the war in Iran.
“People in the U.S. are struggling to pay the bills, they’re struggling to afford groceries,” Glasgow said. “And we’re sending billions and billions of dollars to support these aircraft carriers that, at the end of the day, end up killing civilians.”
UNM freshman and Robinson Park rally attendee Pluto Martinez said she feels anxious about the war because she doesn’t know what is going to happen.
“I think that it’s so scary to see other people in these countries being mistreated and killed,” Martinez said. “Every time I lay down I see all these (Instagram) reels telling me about ‘oh the U.S. has done this.’ I wake up in the morning — it’s like ‘oh we bombed Iran,’ what the hell? It’s kind of nerve-wracking.”
Freshman and member of the UNM Iranian Student Association, Mana Ahmadi, wrote to the Daily Lobo that she does not support “any war or foreign intervention.”
“We have seen repeatedly how the United States has negatively affected the fate of entire countries and placed dictators in positions of power. I do not stand with any Iranians celebrating the US and Trump, and I will never call any politician a hero,” Ahmadi wrote. “As much as I absolutely hate the Islamic Republic, I am also aware of the fascist atrocities committed by the US and Israel and how they manipulate scenarios to look like heroes.”
Those that care for Iranians would not support authoritarian governments of any kind, Ahmadi wrote.
“Trump is not a hero, and the Islamic Republic are monsters. Those stuck dying in the middle of these two fascist governments are the innocent people in Iran,” Ahmadi wrote.
Leila Chapa is the social media and photo editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at socialmedia@dailylobo.com or on X @lchapa06
Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at multimedia@dailylobo.com or on X @paloma_chapa88
Leila Chapa is the social media editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at socialmedia@dailylobo.com or on X @lchapa06
Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at multimedia@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @paloma_chapa88
