Behzad Hemmati and Rahil Nazarian both had the opportunity to come to America from Iran as young adults.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Decades later, Hemmati, 50, and Nazarian, 42, told Fox News Digital that they are watching the situation unfold from their new home in Southern California<\/a>, and to them, this conflict isn\u2019t a war, it\u2019s a “rescue mission.”<\/p>\n Born under the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Hemmati recalls he was too young to experience the “good things” before the Islamic Revolution in 1979 overthrew Pahlavi’s reign.<\/p>\n FORMER NFL PLAYERS OF IRANIAN DESCENT SPEAK UP FOR FREEDOM FROM ISLAMIC REGIME<\/a><\/p>\n Smoke and flames are visible after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian military sites. (\u00a0Sasan \/ Middle East Images \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n “I came here [just because of] my natural personality, I couldn\u2019t bear with the things that [were] happening [in Iran],” Hemmati said.<\/p>\n He recalled his life as a teenager and said, “You want to be yourself, to be free,” but shared that what Western culture considers a “normal” teenage life, wasn\u2019t allowed in Iran.<\/p>\n “You want to dance, you want to hang out with your friends, but we couldn\u2019t \u2026 girls and boys [are] always separate,” Hemmati explained. “This is how [the government] control[s] you, this is how [they] break you in pieces and take that beautiful life that you can have [and] take it away from you.”<\/p>\n Nazarian was born during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s. Her father was a teacher and after the Islamic Revolution, she explained that the Islamic Republic<\/a> took her family\u2019s home, their land and her father was unable to work.<\/p>\n OPERATION EPIC FURY DESTROYS IRAN’S NAVY AND CUTS MISSILE ATTACKS BY 90% IN ONGOING CAMPAIGN<\/a><\/p>\n A demonstrator shouts anti-war slogans while participating in a protest near the White House, Feb. 28, in Washington, D.C. (Probal Rashid\/LightRocket via Getty Images)<\/p>\n “After [Ayatollah Ruhollah] Khomeini came and took over, they fired [my father] because they told him, \u2018You work during Shah, you don\u2019t deserve this,” Nazarian said.<\/p>\n Murderous regime<\/p>\n In an emotional moment, she recalled her father being brought back and forth between Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) camps until one day, he did not come back.<\/p>\n “They were executing most of his family members,” Nazarian said.\u00a0<\/p>\n “One day, he went, and they told him, \u2018Oh, we have a plan for you, we\u2019re gonna give you back everything we took to you, we\u2019re going to give it back to you,\u2019” Nazarian recalled. “He left home [that day], he never came back.”<\/p>\n Since the initial strikes in Operation Epic Fury<\/a> that began in the early-morning hours of Feb. 28, the conflict has struck a chord with the American public, leading to backlash against the Trump administration.<\/p>\n Still, when Hemmati and Nazarian see protests against military action, Hemmati told Fox News Digital that they “don\u2019t understand.”<\/p>\n WHERE AMERICAN SUPPORT FOR TRUMP\u2019S IRAN STRIKE STANDS AS NEW POLLS ROLL IN<\/a><\/p>\n People march in an anti-Iranian regime rally in Los Angeles. (Jonathan Alcorn \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n “People should understand [here], those that they don\u2019t understand,” he said. “People are going on the street and saying no to war, I can tell you 100%, they have no idea.”<\/p>\n The operation has also garnered support from many in the Iranian American<\/a> community.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hemmati said protests in favor of U.S. military action in the country have sprung up around Southern California, and that he attends an event almost every weekend. He says this is a way for people to be the voice for people inside Iran who are in favor of the operation.<\/p>\n “[Iranian\u2019s] inside Iran want to show the world \u2014 obviously, they can\u2019t do anything because everything is disconnected from Iran \u2014 but that\u2019s why we\u2019re going out to be their voice,” Hemmati said.<\/p>\n Family in Iran<\/p>\n Nazarian and Hemmati said they spoke to relatives still living in Iran and despite constant bombardments near their homes, they\u2019re “glad this is happening.”<\/p>\n “No matter what happens, no matter if we lose our house, no matter if the whole house is destroyed, as long as we\u2019re alive to fight back, we\u2019re still grateful and happy,” Hemmati said.<\/p>\n “They were thanking President [Donald] Trump<\/a> and said, it\u2019s OK, we have to pay the price for freedom,” Nazarian continued.<\/p>\n Hemmati said by targeting specific IRGC locations the operation is “cutting the regime\u2019s bloodlines.”<\/p>\n “They\u2019re targeting those very special places for their government,” Hemmati said. “Once they\u2019re eliminated, then it\u2019s time for people to go out.”<\/p>\n Once able, Nazarian and Hemmati said they\u2019ll be on the first flight to Iran<\/a> to see family for a long-overdue visit.<\/p>\n![\"Smoke](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/strikes-iran-oil-depot.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Protester](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/iran-protests-warning-middle-east-fox-news.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Anti-Iranian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/anti-iranian-regime-protests-in-los-angeles.jpg\")
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