A few days have passed since Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei by Israeli and U.S. missile strikes.
Global reaction has been mixed, with some condemning the U.S.'s involvement and others applauding the use of force to remove Iran’s leader, and Buffalo's Iranian community.
Buffalo activist and attorney Nadia Shahram has conflicting feelings for her home country. While happy to see Khamenei out of power, she has concerns about the U.S.’s involvement.
“We wish to bring democracy to Iran (and) as Iranians, they are fighting for democracy, but we don't have it here," she said. "How can I tell Iranian people who are talking to me from Iran that, ‘you can't ask America for help?’ We don't have it here.”
A new leader could be selected as soon as mid-week, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, according to PBS News. The new leader will be selected by 88 members of a panel called the Assembly of Experts.
Regardless of whom is selected next, many Iranians believe the situation cannot get worse, Shahram said.
"They're saying it cannot be worse than what (the Iranian military have done. They have kidnapped children from their own homes, from schools. They have raped young girls in front of parents," she said. "hey have done everything possible that a person could do in Iran, so Iranians are saying that, 'we have gone through this for 47 years,'"
The government is being headed for now by President Masoud Pezeshkian and judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei. Iran has responded to the weekend's attacks by vowing revenge on the U.S. and Israel, and already has struck locations around the region.
