Some Iranian Americans in metro Atlanta say regime change can only come from the organized resistance of Iranians, not from military action by the United States and Israel.
“They can attack, but it’s not going to change the regime,” said Javad Mirzai, who’s part of the Iranian American Community of Georgia, a group that has recently staged protests and photo exhibitions along the Atlanta Beltline as a show of solidarity with Iranians.
Military strikes, he said, will “divert the attention of the Iranian people, and the first one that’s going to use it and abuse it is the Iranian regime.”
His organization is calling for a non-nuclear, secular republic to take hold in Iran, and for the Iranian people to overthrow the Islamic dictatorship that has ruled the country for 47 years.
It’s demanding a government of freedom, gender equality and respect for human rights. The group says Iranian civilians should not have to suffer war because of the regime’s nuclear ambitions.
“Nobody wants war because what are the people going to do?” said Shohreh Mir, another member. “They were on the streets hoping they would topple the regime, but now, because of this, they have to go back inside. I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen.”
The group’s urgent concern is for the protection of civilians and the country’s infrastructure as the U.S. and Israel carry out the attacks. It’s rejecting both theocracy and the authoritarian monarchy that ruled Iran before the 1979 revolution.
“We have a very good, strong resistance in Iran that is able to take care of it,” Mirzai said.
