Loud cheers echoed across Vancouver’s David Lam Park on Saturday afternoon as thousands from the city’s Iranian community gathered following reports that Iran’s supreme leader had been killed in a major strike.
U.S. President Donald Trump said that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was dead after an attack carried out by Israel and the United States, calling the clerical ruler “one of the most evil people in history.”
Iran’s state media confirmed Khamenei’s death as satellite images show significant damage to the leader’s Tehran compound.
Several of his family members have also been killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes, including daughter, grandchild, daughter-in-law and son-in-law, according to the country’s state media.
The news sparked an emotional reaction among thousands of Iranian Canadians who have been rallying in Vancouver for weeks in solidarity with protests in Iran.
Those rallies have drawn large crowds calling for the end of the Islamic Republic, which has ruled Iran since the 1979 revolution.
Niloofar Gharavi, who says she has attended seven recent protests in the city, described Saturday’s atmosphere as unlike anything she has experienced.
“There was a lot of sadness before, but now everyone’s happy,” she said. “The death of Khamenei is the greatest joy. I actually started tearing up. It was a long time coming.”
Ali Maleki, another demonstrator, said protesters had been calling for international military intervention.
“For the last two months, we have been asking for global military action against the Iranian regime,” he said, thanking Trump for the strike. “After removing this regime, peace will come to all the world.”
“This is what we asked for,” he said. “Nobody slept well for two months. Everyone has been stressed.”
Nationwide protests in Iran started Dec. 28 in response to soaring prices, then turned into wider anti-government protests against the clerical rulers who have governed the country for nearly 50 years. The Iranian government then began a crackdown on widespread protests that activist groups say killed thousands.
On Saturday in Vancouver, many in the crowd said they hope Khamenei’s reported death will create an opportunity to dismantle the current system of government and move toward democracy.
Some voiced support for Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah, who was deposed during the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
(CBC)
Demonstrators waved the pre-revolution lion-and-sun flag and carried photos of people killed during the recent unrest.
Ali Ghahremani, another attendee, said the news has sparked celebrations inside Iran as well.
“All cities have exploded in joyous chanting,” he said. “It gives us a window to overthrow the regime and bring back secular democracy.”
“We will possibly be the drunkest country in the middle east for a while because of the joy.”
The Vancouver Police Department said in a social media post that it is closely monitoring the situation in Iran and is liaising with policing partners. Additional officers have been deployed to manage protests, and police said they will adjust their response as the situation unfolds.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a speech during a visit to India on Saturday that Canada supported U.S. actions to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, which he said would stop Iran’s government from “threatening international peace and security.”