New Yorkers Rally With Diverging Demands On Iran Strikes

NEW YORK, NY — Hundreds of New Yorkers, including members of the city’s Iranian community, marched through Midtown Saturday to protest U.S. and Israeli airstrikes across Iran.

The Pentagon called the attacks “Operation Epic Fury,” targeting multiple cities, including Tehran, and killing at least 200 people while injuring more than 700, according to Iranian officials.

In a video posted early Saturday, President Donald Trump said the strikes aimed “to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.”

Organizers, including the People’s Forum and the ANSWER Coalition, led a coalition of antiwar, socialist, and pro-Palestinian groups from Times Square to Columbus Circle. Marchers carried Iranian and Palestinian flags, chanting in unison.

“This has got to end, what the U.S. is doing and what Israel is doing,” Masooma Zaidi said. “They need to take their hands off the Middle East.”

Separately, other protesters held a rally on Feb. 21, marching from City Hall to Camden Plaza Park, before the airstrikes.

Their focus was on systemic human rights abuses inside Iran. Organizers called for immediate international action under the Responsibility to Protect framework and accountability for crimes against humanity.

Ehsan Heidari described the demonstration as a response to “mass killings of protesters, widespread arrests, executions, enforced internet blackouts, and the systematic targeting of women, children and medical professionals by the Iranian regime.”

Mehrzad Shafiei said she joined to oppose oppression and ensure that New Yorkers understand their neighbors are affected by these events. “A lot of our family lives there, and there have been so many killings,” she said. “It should be important in general.”

Organizers also framed the uprising as a global security issue.

“The Iranian regime fuels transnational terrorism, destabilizes the Middle East, threatens energy markets and shipping lanes, accelerates nuclear programs, and contributes to refugee flows,” Heidari said. “Iranians are not only fighting for their freedom—they are confronting a regime whose continued existence poses a long-term threat to global security.”

Protesters said a free and democratic Iran would weaken terror networks, stabilize the region, reduce forced migration, and open one of the world’s most resource-rich markets.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani issued a statement emphasizing public safety and support for Iranian New Yorkers.

“We are taking proactive steps, including increasing coordination across agencies and enhancing patrols of sensitive locations out of an abundance of caution,” he said. “Additionally, I want to speak directly to Iranian New Yorkers: you are part of the fabric of this city — you are our neighbors, small business owners, students, artists, workers, and community leaders. You will be safe here.”