{"id":199793,"date":"2026-03-01T23:16:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T23:16:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/199793\/"},"modified":"2026-03-01T23:16:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T23:16:15","slug":"local-residents-gather-in-celebration-after-u-s-israeli-strikes-reportedly-kill-irans-supreme-leader-annenberg-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/199793\/","title":{"rendered":"Local residents gather in celebration after U.S.-Israeli strikes reportedly kill Iran\u2019s supreme leader \u2013 Annenberg Media"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hundreds of local residents took to the streets in Westwood on Saturday afternoon to celebrate a joint U.S.-Israeli military operation in Iran, which President Donald Trump said<\/a> killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.<\/p>\n

The crowd gathered near the Wilshire Federal Building, where community members distributed signs printed with slogans including \u201cReza Pahlavi for Iran\u201d and a quote attributed to President Trump: \u201cAll I want is freedom for the people.\u201d<\/p>\n

While no anti-war demonstrators appeared to be present at the celebration, the event coincided with a demonstration at City Hall in Downtown Los Angeles, where locals condemned the attack<\/a> and voiced opposition to a new war with Iran.<\/p>\n

\"MembersMembers of the Iranian American community march down Wilshire Boulevard, chanting support for President Trump and Reza Pahlavi through megaphones as others beat drums. (Photo by Charlotte Calm\u00e8s) <\/p>\n

In Westwood, participants marched down Wilshire Boulevard, chanting slogans in English and Farsi, including \u201cTrump, Trump, thank you.\u201d Attendees carried photos of Trump and Reza Pahlavi, an Iranian political activist and eldest son of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last shah of Iran. The crowd waved a mix of flags, including the Israeli and American flags, as well as the Lion and Sun flag \u2014 a symbol of Iran from 1907 until the 1979 Islamic Revolution, after which it was banned. Today, the Lion and Sun flag is often used as a symbol of Iranian heritage and resistance to the Islamic Republic.<\/p>\n

\"AfterAfter looping back to Veteran Avenue, participants gathered outside the Wilshire Federal Building, where they continued chanting and cheering. (Photo by Charlotte Calm\u00e8s) <\/p>\n

Before reaching the Hammer Museum, participants turned onto Ashton Avenue, eventually looping back to the Wilshire Federal Building. There, the crowd played Persian music on speakers as participants danced, hugged and cheered.<\/p>\n

Pani Gol, a local Iranian American resident whose entire family still lives in Iran, said she hopes Khamenei\u2019s death will bring an end to the latest period of suffering Iranians have endured since early January.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mother literally called me for me to hear the sound of all the neighbors celebrating on the street after they heard that he\u2019s down,\u201d Gol said. \u201cSo everybody\u2019s happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SeveralSeveral attendees waved Iranian Lion and Sun flags or wore them draped over their shoulders during the celebration. (Photo by Charlotte Calm\u00e8s) <\/p>\n

The joint strikes follow a large-scale crackdown on anti-government protesters that began in early January<\/a> and an internet blackout that lasted more than two weeks. While estimates of the death toll vary widely, activists say at least 7,000 people<\/a> were killed, many during an especially violent night between Jan. 8 and 9. Two senior officials from the country\u2019s Ministry of Health told TIME<\/a> that as many as 30,000 people may have been killed in the streets of Iran on those two days alone.<\/p>\n

Trump urged Iranians<\/a> to \u201ckeep protesting,\u201d claiming that \u201chelp is on the way.\u201d For weeks, Trump has bolstered U.S. military forces across the Middle East and warned that he may strike Iran if it did not agree to his demands, which included ending its nuclear activities and accepting limits on its ballistic missile program.<\/p>\n

\"ParticipantsParticipants voiced support for President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, carrying signs with their images and quotes as well as American and Israeli flags. (Photo by Charlotte Calm\u00e8s) <\/p>\n

Gol described the joint strikes as a pivotal moment for Iran\u2019s leadership and the start of a new direction for the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe needed some sort of intervention to stop these people. And today is a celebration because it\u2019s all over now,\u201d Gol said.<\/p>\n

\"AnAn attendee lifts her dog into the air in time with the music outside the Wilshire Federal Building in Westwood. (Photo by Charlotte Calm\u00e8s) <\/p>\n

The Los Angeles region is home to the largest community of Iranians<\/a> outside of Iran. Neighborhoods in west Los Angeles \u2014 including Westwood, Beverly Hills and Century City \u2014 are considered part of a broader Iranian American enclave commonly known as \u2018Tehrangeles,\u2019 named for the thousands of Iranian exiles<\/a> and their descendants who have settled in the area.<\/p>\n

\"AA participant stands on a ledge across from the Wilshire Federal Building in Westwood, waving a flag and joining the crowd in chants. (Photo by Charlotte Calm\u00e8s) <\/p>\n

Benjamin Basire, a local resident who is both Iranian American and Jewish, said he was \u201cthrilled\u201d by the intervention and the leadership of Trump and Netanyahu. He added that he had been awake for more than 24 hours after hearing the news from Iran.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m proud to be American, and this country gave me everything \u2026 but the reason that we are all here was Khamenei and his brutal Islamic regime, Basire said. \u201cAnd now he\u2019s gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AfterAfter hearing that Iran\u2019s supreme leader had been killed in a joint U.S.-Israeli attack, local resident Benjamin Basire called Saturday \u201ca day that I\u2019m proud to be Iranian, American and Jewish.\u201d (Photo by Charlotte Calm\u00e8s) <\/p>\n

After becoming the country\u2019s supreme leader in 1989, Khamenei oversaw the steady growth of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps\u2019 political influence, economic power and regional operations. As Iran\u2019s top authority, he had the final say on major state decisions \u2014 including the country\u2019s nuclear program and its approach to the West \u2014 and served as commander-in-chief of both the regular military and the IRGC.<\/p>\n

Khamenei also led the \u201caxis of resistance,\u201d an anti-Western, anti-Israel alliance that includes groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas. During his tenure, Iran was repeatedly designated by Western governments as a leading state sponsor of terrorism<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After learning that Khamenei had been killed in the joint attack, another local resident, Yekta Pakzad, expressed a similar sense of hope, and called on American and Israeli leaders to remain involved until new leadership is established.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not our right government. There is a dictatorship,\u201d Pakzad said. \u201cUntil the regime changes, we need their help.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe march was led by local residents riding in the bed of a pickup truck, facing the crowd and leading chants. (Photo by Charlotte Calm\u00e8s) <\/p>\n

Bahman Mohammadi, a resident of the Tehrangeles area, said the events represent not only a chance for political change, but also an opportunity to reunite with his family in Iran after several years away due to safety concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so happy, everybody\u2019s happy, because the Ayatollah is finished,\u201d Mohammadi said. \u201cI hope for regime change and to be going back home. It\u2019s been a long time out of my home, and I really miss it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BahmanBahman Mohammadi, a Los Angeles resident, said he hopes to return to his home country and reunite with his family after years apart following the news of Khamenei\u2019s death. (Photo by Charlotte Calm\u00e8s) <\/p>\n

Basire added that, for many Iranian Americans, the moment meant more than just relief from the conditions their family members and fellow citizens have experienced inside Iran in recent months \u2014 it also represented a break from over three decades of authoritarian rule and repression under Khamenei, he explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is Iran, this is us,\u201d Basire said. \u201cAnd we are reclaiming our country.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LocalLocal residents hugged and cried during the celebration, expressing hope that the moment would usher in a new political future for Iran. (Photo by Charlotte Calm\u00e8s) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hundreds of local residents took to the streets in Westwood on Saturday afternoon to celebrate a joint U.S.-Israeli…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":199794,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[92913,5705,48,52,51,47,50,49],"class_list":["post-199793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-global-city","tag-homepage","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199793\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/199794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}