The Iranian Red Crescent said more than 200 people were killed and roughly 700 others were injured across the country.<\/p>\n
Iran, which the U.S. State Department has designated a state sponsor of terrorism since 1984, killed thousands of civilians in a crackdown on nationwide protests<\/a> that began in late December.<\/p>\n Human rights organizations documented more than 7,000 deaths<\/a>. Khamenei ordered security forces to \u201ccrush the protests by any means necessary,\u201d according to two Iranian officials briefed on the directive, as reported by The New York Times.<\/p>\n Trump cited the regime\u2019s killing of protesters as part of his justification for the strikes.<\/p>\n Leo Atkinson, an organizer with the Lehigh Valley Democratic Socialists of America, said the strikes were not authorized by Congress and would deepen civilian suffering.<\/p>\n Asked how he reconciled his antiwar stance with the Iranian government\u2019s killing of its own people, Atkinson said he did not believe U.S. military intervention was the answer.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the United States is uniquely without moral standing to be the police in the world,\u201d Atkinson said, citing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.<\/p>\n Atkinson said he did not want to see innocent people die under any government but felt a responsibility to speak out when his own country was dropping bombs.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen my country is the one doing the killing, when they\u2019re the ones dropping the bombs, I feel like it\u2019s our responsibility to stand up and say, we do not support this,\u201d Atkinson said. \u201cJust as I would say citizens of other countries have a right and a responsibility to do that when their government\u2019s the one doing the killing.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked about the reported killing of Khamenei, Atkinson said his concern was for civilians and urged de-escalation.<\/p>\n \u201cI would focus on all the civilian life that has already been lost and probably will continue to be lost if this continues to escalate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Nancy Tate, who works at the LEPOCO Peace Center in Bethlehem and helped organize the protest, said the groups pulled the event together within hours of the strikes.<\/p>\n She said she believed the United States should have continued diplomatic negotiations rather than launching military action.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think our going and killing more people is a good response,\u201d Tate said.<\/p>\n Asked whether other nations should intervene when a government is killing its own people, Tate said the response should not come through bombing.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the international community should react to that, not with bombs,\u201d Tate said.<\/p>\n Tate said no country should have nuclear weapons and called for disarmament, but said the United States lacked credibility to police other nations\u2019 arsenals while maintaining its own.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have nuclear weapons. How can we be running around the world telling other people they can\u2019t have nuclear weapons?\u201d Tate said.<\/p>\n Videos verified by CNN showed some Iranians in the streets of Tehran cheering and celebrating<\/a> after reports of Khamenei\u2019s death.<\/p>\n Amanda Zaniesienko, an attendee, said she was driven to the protest by reports of children killed in the strikes. Iran\u2019s judiciary said at least 85 girls died when a strike hit an elementary school in the southern city of Minab.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are numbers of children who were killed in one of the bombings and it just can\u2019t keep happening,\u201d Zaniesienko said.<\/p>\n Asked about Iran\u2019s record of killing its own civilians, Zaniesienko said she did not condone the regime\u2019s actions but did not believe the strikes were justified.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think their people should be mistreated for sure,\u201d Zaniesienko said. She added that she did not believe Iran posed an imminent nuclear threat.<\/p>\n Organizers encouraged residents to contact their elected officials. Pennsylvania\u2019s two U.S. senators had already voiced support for the strikes.<\/p>\n U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., posted on X early Saturday morning, praising the operation and breaking with most of his party by opposing a War Powers resolution to block further military action.<\/p>\n He later appeared on Fox News, where he directly referenced the Iranian government\u2019s crackdown.<\/p>\n \u201cIran massacred 30,000 of their own people right now,\u201d Fetterman said. \u201cThis war is not about the Iranian people. It\u2019s about this poisonous regime.\u201d<\/p>\n U.S. Sen. David McCormick, R-Pa., also backed the strikes, writing on X that the Iranian regime \u201chas killed Americans, threatened Israel and our allies in the region with their ballistic missile and nuclear ambitions, and butchered tens of thousands of its own people.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey are the world\u2019s number one sponsor of terror,\u201d McCormick said.<\/p>\n The protest took place at the same South Bethlehem intersection where LEPOCO, a peace organization founded in 1965, has held weekly vigils for years.<\/p>\n Organizers also listed the office number for Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., who represents Pennsylvania\u2019s 7th Congressional District and sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.<\/p>\n Mackenzie posted on X Saturday evening that Khamenei \u201cand 40 of his top leaders have been killed\u201d after \u201crefusing America\u2019s latest diplomatic entreaties.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe world will become a safer place in the long run because of President Trump\u2019s actions,\u201d Mackenzie said. \u201cAs our military continues to carry out these major combat operations in Iran, we pray for our service members.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump said the operation, which the Pentagon dubbed \u201cOperation Epic Fury,\u201d was aimed at dismantling Iran\u2019s missile program. Both Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called openly for regime change in Iran.<\/p>\n Trump addressed Iranians directly, telling them to \u201ctake over your government\u201d once the operation ended.<\/p>\n Iran responded by launching retaliatory missile strikes against U.S. military assets in several Gulf states, including Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n The U.S. military reported no American casualties as of Saturday evening.<\/p>\n Negotiations between the Trump administration and Iran in Geneva ended on Thursday without a deal. <\/p>\n On Friday, Oman\u2019s Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, who mediated the talks, told CBS News that a peace deal was \u201cwithin our reach.\u201d Trump said the same day he was \u201cnot happy\u201d with how Iran was negotiating.<\/p>\n Tate encouraged residents to make their voices heard.<\/p>\n \u201cWhatever they feel, they should be communicating with their elected officials,\u201d Tate said.<\/p>\n \n This is the part where we ask.\n <\/p>\n \n No billionaire owner. No paywall. Just you keeping local news free.\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n $5 keeps us going \n 100% funds local journalism.\n <\/p>\n![\"iran](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_3720-1600x1200.jpeg\")
Protesters gather on the corner of Wyandotte and Third streets near a church during a demonstration against U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in South Bethlehem, Pa. (Jai Smith \/ Lehigh Daily)<\/p>\n
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