As Iran protests rage, Tampa’s key role and Iranian American voices come into focus

At least thousands of people are reported dead amid protests against the Iranian government as the U.S. weighs military intervention.

TAMPA, Fla. — Decades after leaving Iran, Farida of Tampa said the crisis unfolding there still feels deeply personal.

Farida, who asked to be identified by only her first name, said she hopes recent protests will spark change.

“I have over 90 million family members in Iran, and I care for each one and every one of them significantly and deeply,” she said.

Protests against the Islamic Republic have raged for weeks amid an economic collapse and political repression but at least 12,000 people, possibly as high as 20,000 people, are feared dead as a result, according to medical officials contacted by CBS News. 

President Trump recently warned of potential intervention in Iran amid widespread protests that have left thousands of people reported dead and communication lines cut off.

If intervention takes place, Tampa could play a critical role in what happens next.

The U.S. Central Command, known as CENTCOM, is headquartered at the MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, which oversees operations in the Middle East. Last June, CENTCOM was heavily involved on airstrikes against Iranian nuclear sites.

“Tampa is the second important city in the United States after Washington, D.C.,” said Dr. Arman Mahmoudian, a research fellow at USF’s Global and National Security Institute.

Mahmoudian compared Washington, D.C., to the “brain” of the U.S. military, where decisions are made, and Tampa to the operational “arm,” where those decisions are carried out. 

With CENTCOM headquartered locally, the area plays a central role in directing military operations and special missions.

In terms of current operations, Mahmoudian said the U.S. has been taking precautionary measures in case military intervention is taken.

Personnel have been pulled out from a key U.S. military base in Qatar. On Wednesday, President Trump claimed killings and executions in Iran would stop, according to unnamed sources.

“I’ve been told that on good authority, we’ll find out about it. I’m sure if it happens, we’ll be very upset,” Trump said. 

On Tuesday, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he had cancelled all meetings with Iranian officials until the killings of protesters had stopped and that help would be on its way.

Amid intervention in Venezuela, Mahmoudian said the U.S. may have the military capacity to fight on multiple fronts, but the real question is the political cost. 

Mahmoudian said on the military level, arrangements and coordination appear to be underway in case a U.S. military airstrike comes to fruition. However, with Trump’s recent comments on Wednesday on the halt in killings, paint a less clear image.

“You have to wait and see for that,” Mahmoudian said. 

In the meantime, local Iranian American voices have been attempting to shed light on the situation in Iran, as well as the deaths that have been reported.

Protests in Iran have also sparked protests globally against the Iranian government.

Farida said she admires the resilience and the bravery of protesters, adding it’s time the world also has their backs.

” I hope more and more stations, radio stations, and TV, come in and help us to raise our voices. For now, that’s the only way we can help from outside,” she said. “There is no way for us to go back. This government has to go.”

Local Iranian Americans in Tampa plan to demonstrate Sunday afternoon at Curtis Hixon Park in solidarity with those protesting in Iran.