TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — As tensions and threats of destruction continue to escalate, Iranians in Tampa Bay are concerned for the family they have in the embattled country.

“This is a regime that has been chanting death to Israel, death to America for 47 years,” Amir Ardebily told 8 On Your Side.

Trump is putting pressure on Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and some Iranians agree with the commander in chief that international security is at risk.

“They were on their way to having a nuclear weapon. No matter what anybody wants to say. I am from there. I was born and raised in Iran. I know what the government has done to these people, and I know what they have been saying forever,” Ardebily said.

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Others say there was, and continues to be, a path forward without violence, hoping to protect the lives of the family they’ve left behind.

“Ordinary people, they can get killed if something happens. They’re not going to have water. They’re not going to have power. You know, war. Everybody knows it’s a disaster. So we feel bad about them, but at the same time, we are hopeless. I am helpless,” Kavoosh Khosh said.

Both sides of the aisle believe the next few days will be decisive for those who remain in Iran and those who will spend their nights praying at home thousands of miles away.

At around 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Trump announced that a temporary, two-week ceasefire negotiated by Pakistan would be put in place, assuming Iran agrees to immediately open the Straight of Hormuz.

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“God knows what’s going to happen tonight, it all sounds bad, but we’re willing to pay the price,” Amir Ardebily said, “Whatever it takes to get rid of this regime.”

“I feel like I can’t really do much,” Khosh said. He looks forward to the end of the armed conflict. “I do not like war. I’m against the war.”

Both Khosh and Ardebily say they haven’t spoken to their families in nearly a week due to a lack of internet and cell phone service across Iran.

This weekend, the Iranian American Society of Tampa Bay plans to host a rally in Downtown Tampa calling for unity and change. It will be Saturday, April 11, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park.

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