{"id":506363,"date":"2026-03-01T01:17:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T01:17:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/506363\/"},"modified":"2026-03-01T01:17:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T01:17:10","slug":"vancouvers-iranian-community-celebrates-after-u-s-president-says-irans-supreme-leader-killed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/506363\/","title":{"rendered":"Vancouver’s Iranian community celebrates after U.S. president says Iran\u2019s supreme leader killed"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

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The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

Loud cheers echoed across Vancouver\u2019s David Lam Park on Saturday afternoon as thousands from the city\u2019s Iranian community gathered following reports that Iran\u2019s supreme leader had been killed in a major strike.<\/p>\n

U.S. President Donald Trump has said that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was dead after an attack carried out by Israel and the United States, calling the clerical ruler \u201cone of the most evil people in history.\u201d <\/p>\n

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier said there were growing signs Khamenei had been killed.<\/p>\n

Iranian authorities have not confirmed Khamenei’s death but satellite images show significant damage to the leader’s Tehran compound.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Those rallies have drawn large crowds calling for the end of the Islamic Republic, which has ruled Iran since the 1979 revolution.<\/p>\n

Niloofar Gharavi, who says she has attended seven recent protests in the city, described Saturday\u2019s atmosphere as unlike anything she has experienced.<\/p>\n

WATCH | B.C.’s Iranian diaspora celebrates potential regime change:\"\"<\/p>\n

B.C.’s Iranian diaspora celebrates potential regime change<\/p>\n

Following Saturday night’s strikes in Tehran, senior Israeli officials and U.S. President Donald Trump say Iran’s supreme leader has been killed. Iranians are celebrating across the world and in Canada, thousands of diaspora members in B.C. are celebrating what could be a regime change. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a lot of sadness before, but now everyone\u2019s happy,\u201d she said. \u201cThe death of Khamenei is the greatest joy. I actually started tearing up. It was a long time coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gharavi said she is quite positive that the supreme leader is dead and is willing to take the U.S. President\u2019s word for it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIran is very famous for lying to the media,\u201d she said. \u201cWe hope that it\u2019s true.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ali Maleki, another demonstrator, said protesters had been calling for international military intervention.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the last two months, we have been asking for global military action against the Iranian regime,\u201d he said, thanking Trump for the strike. \u201cAfter removing this regime, peace will come to all the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what we asked for,\u201d he said. \u201cNobody slept well for two months. Everyone has been stressed.\u201d<\/p>\n

WATCH | Dozens reported dead in Iran after U.S., Israel launch major attack:\"\"<\/p>\n

Dozens reported dead in Iran after U.S., Israel launch major attack<\/p>\n

Iranian state media reported that more than 200 people were killed and dozens were injured after the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran. However, with a near total internet blackout across the country, information from inside Iran remains limited as Tehran responds with retaliatory strikes on Israel and U.S. bases in several Gulf countries.<\/p>\n

Nationwide protests<\/a> 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On Saturday in Vancouver, many in the crowd said they hope Khamenei\u2019s reported death will create an opportunity to dismantle the current system of government and move toward democracy.<\/p>\n

Some voiced support for Reza Pahlavi<\/a>, the exiled son of Iran\u2019s last shah, who was deposed during the 1979 Islamic Revolution.<\/p>\n

\"AAli Ghahremani said the mood among many Iranians, both abroad and inside the country, is jubilant. (CBC)<\/p>\n

Demonstrators waved the pre-revolution lion-and-sun flag and carried photos of people killed during the recent unrest.<\/p>\n

Ali Ghahremani, another attendee, said the news has sparked celebrations inside Iran as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll cities have exploded in joyous chanting,\u201d he said. \u201cIt gives us a window to overthrow the regime and bring back secular democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will possibly be the drunkest country in the middle east for a while because of the joy.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.”<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":506364,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194298],"tags":[49,48,55],"class_list":["post-506363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-vancouver","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-vancouver"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=506363"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506363\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/506364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=506363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=506363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=506363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}