{"id":521297,"date":"2026-03-07T22:37:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T22:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/521297\/"},"modified":"2026-03-07T22:37:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T22:37:12","slug":"montreals-iranian-community-rallies-in-solidarity-amid-iran-conflict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/521297\/","title":{"rendered":"Montreal\u2019s Iranian community rallies in solidarity amid Iran conflict"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than a week into the war in Iran, with ongoing U.S. and Israeli strikes targeting sites in and around the capital, members of Montreal\u2019s Iranian community gathered in solidarity.<\/p>\n

Rally at Atwater metro station<\/p>\n

A rally at the Atwater metro station brought people together under the message \u201cUnited standing until freedom,\u201d as many followed the escalating conflict from thousands of kilometres away.<\/p>\n

The demonstration reflects the strong emotions the war is stirring among Montrealers with ties to Iran. Protestors gathered downtown waving Iranian flags and holding signs.<\/p>\n

\"\"Members of Montreal\u2019s Iranian community march in a solidarity rally from Atwater Metro station through downtown Montreal on March 7, 2026. (CityNews)<\/p>\n

Weekly demonstrations to amplify voices in Iran<\/p>\n

Rally organizer Ayrik Armani said the weekly demonstrations are meant to amplify the voices of people in Iran.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the first week, we have been here to be the voice of Iran,\u201d said Armani.<\/p>\n

Some attendees said they have been showing up regularly to demonstrate their support.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are every week here to support our country,\u201d said Mahbod Nazeri, who attended Saturday\u2019s rally.<\/p>\n

\"\"Members of Montreal\u2019s Iranian community march in a solidarity rally from Atwater Metro station through downtown Montreal on March 7, 2026. (CityNews)<\/p>\n

Calls for political change<\/p>\n

Others said they believe international action could lead to political change in Iran.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are here to send a message that this military aide that was long asked by people to be there, to support the Iranian people, is for the regime change,\u201d said Abolfazl Kamali, another rally attendee. <\/p>\n

\"\"Members of Montreal\u2019s Iranian community march in a solidarity rally from Atwater Metro station through downtown Montreal on March 7, 2026. (CityNews)<\/p>\n

Feelings of desperation among some Iranians<\/p>\n

Organizers of the rally say the reaction from people inside Iran reflects the depth of frustration many feel toward the current regime.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is something that not many nations have gone through. This feeling, it\u2019s something else. Like many Canadians, many Americans, not only people can experience this in their life, but we are going through this. We are here. We are there in our country. Somewhere gets bombed. And we\u2019re happy about it. Just imagine how desperate we are right now in Iran. And we are trying to be the voice of people right now,\u201d Armani said.<\/p>\n

Families watching the conflict from afar<\/p>\n

For many at the rally, the situation is also personal, with friends and family still living in Iran.<\/p>\n

Nazeri said he remains in close contact with relatives there.<\/p>\n

\u201cYesterday when my mom called me to say, \u2018if you heard something from the news that they are attacking our city, don\u2019t worry, we are okay\u2019, you know? Because we are patriots, for us humanity and the country is more important than our life. So we like to do this fight to have a better future for our country and our people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Mahbod Nazeri (right) participates in a solidarity rally and march with Montreal\u2019s Iranian community from Atwater Metro station through downtown Montreal on March 7, 2026, calling for political change in Iran and showing support for people affected by the ongoing conflict. (CityNews)<\/p>\n

Kamali also said he speaks regularly with family and friends in Iran and described the mixed emotions they are experiencing as the conflict continues.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do have friends and family in Iran. Whenever I call them and I talk to them, they all up absolutely. There are explosions, there are bombs and people are scared. But at the same time, they\u2019re all happy that this is happening,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Demonstrations expected to continue<\/p>\n

Organizers say they plan to continue gathering in Montreal as the situation in Iran evolves, hoping to keep attention on the conflict and its impact on people in the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than a week into the war in Iran, with ongoing U.S. and Israeli strikes targeting sites in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":521298,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194292],"tags":[49,48,2338],"class_list":["post-521297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-montreal","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-montreal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521297","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=521297"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521297\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/521298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=521297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=521297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=521297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}