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TAMPA, Fla. – Dozens of Iranian Americans rallied in downtown Tampa<\/a> on Saturday, voicing support for the war and calling for regime change in Iran.<\/p>\n What we know:<\/p>\n The demonstration, organized by the Iranian American Society of Tampa Bay, unfolded just outside Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park.\u00a0<\/p>\n A food and wine festival nearby drew a very different kind of crowd.<\/p>\n Flags from both countries waved above the rally, as chants for change echoed across the park.<\/p>\n For some, the message was deeply personal. Hamid Ashtari, a rally goer, said the government in Iran<\/a> does not reflect the will of its people.<\/p>\n Read: Iran war latest: No agreement between U.S. & Iran, Vance says<\/a><\/p>\n “The regime in Iran is not representative of the Iranian people at all,” he said.<\/p>\n Others framed the conflict as necessary, even at a cost felt at home. Amir Ardebily, another rally goer, said he believes the war is worth the economic strain.<\/p>\n What they’re saying:<\/p>\n “It\u2019s the right thing that we\u2019re doing. Gas prices, that\u2019s a very small price to pay to be able to have a secure future and a safe future,” he said.<\/p>\n As the war enters its seventh week, some at the rally said they oppose a ceasefire, fearing it could leave those still in Iran vulnerable.<\/p>\n Mondana Behjati, a rally goer, said the prospect of the conflict ending without broader change is what concerns her most.<\/p>\n “Our biggest fear is that the war ends, and we still have to deal with the Islamic Revolution, the Islamic Republic,” she said.<\/p>\n Big picture view:<\/p>\n Ardebily, who said he has loved ones still in Iran, echoed that concern. He said a U.S. withdrawal could have devastating consequences.<\/p>\n “I don\u2019t think the United States is going to leave. But if we were to leave, it would be a disaster. Because this regime has not changed,” he said.<\/p>\n He described the government as something deeply entrenched, difficult to dismantle piece by piece.<\/p>\n “The Iranian regime is like a bad layer of onion. You take one layer, there\u2019s another layer, and you have to completely get rid of them,” he said.<\/p>\n Read: Hundreds climb 42 floors in Tampa “Fight for Air” event, raising over $225K for lung cancer fight<\/a><\/p>\n Some rally goers are looking ahead to what could come next. Ashtari pointed to Reza Pahlavi as a figure he believes could help lead Iran toward democracy.<\/p>\n “He has spent all of his life saying the exact same thing that he wants democracy for Iran,” Ashtari said.<\/p>\n Beyond Tampa, global leaders are urging a different path. Pope Leo XIV has spoken out against the war, calling on both sides to pursue peace as the conflict continues.<\/p>\n The Source: Information for this story came from statements from the Iranian American Society of Tampa Bay, interviews with several Iranian-Americans and previous reporting on FOX 13.<\/p>\n Tampa<\/a>Iran War<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TAMPA, Fla. – Dozens of Iranian Americans rallied in downtown Tampa on Saturday, voicing support for the war…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":228206,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[47,629,82633,115,135,137,136,628],"class_list":{"0":"post-228205","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa","8":"tag-fl","9":"tag-hillsborough","10":"tag-iran-war","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-tampa","13":"tag-tampa-headlines","14":"tag-tampa-news","15":"tag-us"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=228205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228205\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/228206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=228205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=228205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=228205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/vlcsnap-2026-04-11-22h50m53s054.png\")
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