Iranian Americans in Atlanta React to U.S. Action in Iran

Local Iranians gather to honor dissidents killed in Iran, share hopes and concerns about U.S. military intervention.

Published on Mar. 2, 2026

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Iranians living in the metro Atlanta area are sharing their reactions to recent U.S. military action in Iran, including the death of the country's Supreme Leader. Some welcome the development but want Iranians to lead the change in their country, while others hope the U.S. intervention will end soon.

Why it matters

The reactions from Iranian Americans in Atlanta provide insight into how the U.S. military action in Iran is being perceived within the Iranian diaspora community. Their perspectives highlight the complexities around foreign intervention and the desire for Iranians to determine their own political future.

The details

Local Iranians gathered along the Atlanta Beltline's Eastside Trail to display signs honoring political dissidents killed in Iran over the past four decades. Gholam Baktiari, a local Iranian, said he is happy the Supreme Leader is gone but wants Iranians to topple the government themselves without foreign intervention. Farhad Shariat, a former Iranian political prisoner, and Batool Zamani, president of the Iranian-American Community of Georgia, also welcomed the Supreme Leader's death but hope the U.S. military action will end soon, believing freedom for Iran must come from the Iranian people.

  • The gathering along the Atlanta Beltline took place on Sunday evening.

The players

Gholam Baktiari

A local Iranian who says he is happy the Supreme Leader is gone but wants Iranians to topple the government themselves without foreign intervention.

Farhad Shariat

A former political prisoner in Iran who welcomed the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader but hopes the U.S. military intervention ends quickly.

Batool Zamani

The president of the Iranian-American Community of Georgia who agrees that freedom for Iran must come from the Iranian people, not foreign intervention.

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What they’re saying

“There's nobody in the world that's not happy that this bloody murderer is gone.”

— Gholam Baktiari (WSB Radio)

“Freedom is not going to come with a war, it's not going to come easy, it has to be changed with the Iranian people.”

— Farhad Shariat, Former Political Prisoner in Iran (WSB Radio)

“We are capable, we have resistance, and we will get rid of this regime.”

— Batool Zamani, President, Iranian-American Community of Georgia (WSB Radio)

The takeaway

The reactions from Iranian Americans in Atlanta highlight the complex dynamics around foreign intervention in Iran, with many wanting the country's future to be determined by the Iranian people themselves rather than through U.S. military action, even if they welcome the death of the Supreme Leader.