Iranian nationals celebrating the death of Iran’s leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday clashed with protestors criticizing the Trump administration’s military actions in Iran.
As many as 50 Iranian nationals chanted, cheered, played music and danced outside the White House on Saturday, according to organizers. The Center Square spoke with several Iranian nationals who expressed joy about Khamenei’s death.
One Iranian national, Niki, who asked to be referred to by her first name only, moved to the United States three months ago after persecutions of Iranian regime protestors became more deadly. She described the community in Iran as one big family.
“All of the people in Iran are like our family, there’s no difference,” Niki said. “When we see that people are murdered, people are suffering in our country, there’s no doubt that we will suffer here too.”
The Iranian regime has been responding violently to protesters within its own country, killing and jailing an unknown number.
Niki said she hopes a democratic process will prevail in Iran after the military actions. She called on the Iranian people to hold elections and install a leader who represents the people.
“We have very good politicians, very good people, very intelligent and smart people that are in prison in Iran,” she said. “If they are freed, I’m sure that they will find a good leader between the people who are now in Iran.”
Several Iranian nationals brought homemade signs that denounced calling the military actions a war with Iran. Others banged on drums and declared messages of hope. Many had signs thanking President Trump for the United States’ military action.
“We don’t see it as a war with the Iranian people,” Mo, an Iranian national who has lived in the United States for 10 years, said. “We see it as a humanitarian intervention.”
He also called on the Iranian people to take power of the government and hold democratic elections.. He said he would visit the country again if it was opened up and it became safer to do so.
Mo pointed to Reza Pahlavi, an activist and Iranian dissent leader in exile in the United States, to lead the country after the Ayatollah’s death.
“We trust him and his teams after these things calm down,” he said. “The solution will be a referendum; people can freely vote for what type of government they choose.”
Alongside the Iranian people’s celebrations, several protestors gathered to criticize the Trump administration’s actions in Iran. Robert Chase, a progressive activist, questioned whether Khamenei’s death would lead to lasting change in Iran.
“There will eventually be another Ayatollah, presumably, because that is the structure of their government,” Chase said. “None of our goals have really been realized, just the decapitation of some of the more visible and vocal people opposing the United States, but there’s plenty more of them.”
Lawmakers have vowed to hold a vote on a War Powers Resolution to halt further military action in the country. Chase said he was skeptical that such a resolution would pass in Congress without a Democratic majority in either chamber.
“He campaigned as an isolationist, he’s governed as a would-be imperialist,” Chase said.
Overall, Chase cast doubt on a shift to democratic government in Iran and a major change in the country’s political outlook.
“There’s certainly not any hope of political changes in Iran, as a result of these attacks short of picking a new supreme leader,” Chase said. “I don’t know what there is to celebrate.”

The Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is dead, President Donald Trump confirmed Saturday.
The president made the announcement from his Palm Beach estate via a Truth Social post, which described the now deceased leader as “one of the most evil people in history.”
“This is not only justice for the people of Iran, but for all Great Americans, and those people from many countries throughout the world, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty THUGS,” Trump wrote. “He was unable to avoid our intelligence and highly sophisticated tracking systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leader could do.”
The president continued by echoing earlier statements shortly after announcing the strikes, urging the Iranian people to rise against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard.
“This is the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their country. We are hearing that many of their IRGC, military, and other security and police forces, no longer want to fight, and are looking for immunity from us. As I said last night, ‘now they can have immunity, later they only get death!’ Hopefully, the IRGC and police will peacefully merge with the Iranian patriots, and work together as a unit to bring back the country to the greatness it deserves.”
Trump said the process for Iranians to take back their country “should soon be starting.” He said that “heavy and pinpoint bombing” will continue “uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND, INDEED, THE WORLD!”
In an earlier televised address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also encouraged the Iranian people to rise up, while announcing the death of Khamenei.
“Citizens of Iran…It is your time to unite and topple this regime,” said Netanyahu.
In response to the death of Khamenei, video from inside Tehran and around the world showed jubilant Iranians celebrating the death of their former leader. Hundreds of Iranians gathered outside the White House Saturday evening in celebration, while groups of protesters gathered to demonstrate against Operation Epic Fury, the name for the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.

President Donald Trump Saturday afternoon Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed.
“Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead,” Trump wrote on social media.
Iran’s supreme leader was one of the targets of the U.S. and Israeli srikes inside Iran early Saturday.
“This is not only Justice for the people of Iran, but for all Great Americans, and those people from many Countries throughout the World, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty THUGS,” Trump continued. “He was unable to avoid our Intelligence and Highly Sophisticated Tracking Systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do. This is the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country.”
Trump further wrote that intelligence indicates that many in the Iranian military and police “no longer want to fight.”
“We are hearing that many of their IRGC, Military, and other Security and Police Forces, no longer want to fight, and are looking for Immunity from us. As I said last night, ‘Now they can have Immunity, later they only get Death!,’ Trump wrote. “Hopefully, the IRGC and Police will peacefully merge with the Iranian Patriots, and work together as a unit to bring back the Country to the Greatness it deserves. That process should soon be starting in that, not only the death of Khamenei but the Country has been, in only one day, very much destroyed and, even, obliterated. The heavy and pinpoint bombing, however, will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective of PEACE THROUGHOUT THE MIDDLE EAST AND, INDEED, THE WORLD!”
Earlier in the day. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there were “signs” that the leader of the Islamic Republic was killed during airstrikes on Khamenei’s compound.
“There are many signs that Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei is no longer alive,” Netanyahu said during an address Saturday.
Since the strikes began, there has not been any communication from the supreme leader, Netanyahu said.

The FBI is on high alert following the U.S.-Israeli coordinated strikes on Iran overnight.
FBI Director Kash Patel said that the FBI is “fully engaged on the situation overseas,” and he has directed the bureau’s counterterrorism and intelligence teams “to be on high alert and mobilize security assets needed.”
Patel said the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force across the country is working to “address and disrupt any potential threats to the homeland.”
The announcement from the FBI comes as the U.S. Secret Service issued a statement saying that it is “actively monitoring the situation in Iran and remains in close coordination” with federal and local partners.
Other law enforcement agencies across the country, including the New York Police Department and the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, released similar statements.
“At this time, there are no known threats to D.C. We are prepared to increase our presence as needed,” according to a statement from MPD.
NYPD said it is also increasing patrols across the city in response to Operation Epic Fury.
“As is our protocol and out of an abundance of caution, we will be enhancing patrols to sensitive locations throughout the city, including diplomatic, cultural, religious and other relevant sites,” according to a NYPD post on X.

U.S. Central Command has confirmed that despite missile and drone attacks on bases in the Middle East, there are no reports of casualties or “combat-related injuries,” and damage to American installations has been “minimal.”
CENTCOM added that damage done to U.S. military installations “has not impacted operations.”
Multiple videos have circulated showing missiles and drones striking structures believed to be at Naval Support Activity Bahrain, headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet.
Multiple reports also indicate that Iran has been targeting other military bases in the region, including bases in Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, carried out by Iran in retaliation for Operation Epic Fury.

One of the major global maritime passageways for oil transport, the Strait of Hormuz, has been closed, according to multiple reports.
The Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, has reportedly been receiving VHF transmissions from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard instructing that no ships are allowed to pass through the strait.
The reports come as the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration has issued an alert to vessels in the region, urging them to “keep clear of this area if possible,” citing “significant military activity.”
“Any U.S.-flagged, owned, or crewed commercial vessels that are operating these areas should maintain a standoff of 30 nautical miles from U.S. military vessels to reduce the risk of being mistaken as a threat and are strongly encouraged to maintain close contact with Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) Naval Coordination and Guidance for Shipping,” according to DOT.
Iran has been targeting Arab countries along the Persian Gulf, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates in response to U.S. strikes inside of Iran early Saturday.
The reported closure comes on the heels of Operation Epic Fury, joint coordinated strikes by the U.S. and Israel on Iran.

World leaders including U.S. allies called for peace in the Middle East after the United States launched strikes into Iran on Saturday.
French President Emmanuel Macron said war between the U.S., Israel and Iran brings “grave consequences for international peace and security.”
“The ongoing escalation is dangerous for all. It must stop,” Macron wrote on social media. “The Iranian regime must understand that it now has no other option but to engage in good faith negotiations to end its nuclear and ballistic program.”
Macron called for a meeting of the United Nations Security Council to further discuss the actions in Iran.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned the military actions and warned of risks to international peace and security.
“I call for an immediate cessation of hostilities and de-escalation. Failing to do so risks a wider regional conflict with grave consequences for civilians and regional stability,” Gutteres said in a statement.
Oman’s foreign minister, Badr Albusaidi, who helped mediate negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, warned against further military action in Iran.
“Active and serious negotiations have yet again been undermined,” he wrote on social media. “I urge the United States not to get sucked in further. This is not your war.”
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German chancellor Friedrich Merz and Macron issued a joint statement calling on Iran to reach a negotiated settlement.
“We urge the Iranian leadership to seek a negotiated solution. Ultimately, the Iranian people must be allowed to determine their future,” they said.
Saudi Arabia criticized Iran’s counterattack strikes on Bahrain, Qatar and Jordan.
“The Kingdom [of Saudi Arabia] affirms its full solidarity with and unwavering support for the brotherly countries, and its readiness to place all its capabilities at their disposal in support of any measures they may undertake,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Mark Carney, prime minister of Canada, criticized Iran for not backing down on its nuclear program.
“Canada supports the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent its regime from further threatening international peace and security,” Carney wrote.

Lawmakers said they would force a Congressional vote on war with Iran after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes in the country on Saturday.
U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ken., said he and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., will work together to force the vote in Congress once it returns to session.
“I am opposed to this War,” Massie wrote on social media. “The Constitution requires a vote and your Representative needs to be on record as opposing or supporting this war.”
The War Powers Act requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing U.S. armed forces abroad.
“Trump has launched an illegal regime change war in Iran with American lives at risk,” Khanna wrote on social media. “Every member of Congress should go on record this weekend on how they will vote.”
Lawmakers across the aisle praised and slammed President Donald Trump for the military strikes on Iran, dubbed “Operation Epic Fury.”
U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Congress was not briefed on the scope and severity of the threat in Iran.
“Confronting Iran’s malign regional activities, nuclear ambitions, and harsh oppression of Iranian people demands American strength, resolve, regional coordination, and strategic clarity,” Schumer wrote. “Unfortunately, President Trump’s fitful cycles of lashing out and risking wider conflict are not a viable strategy.”
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., praised Trump for moving forward with the military action.
“President Trump has been willing to do what’s right and necessary to produce real peace in the region,” Fetterman wrote in a post on social media.
Lawmakers who praised Trump’s actions also sharply criticized Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and called for regime change in the country. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said military action in the region could cause the “biggest change in the Middle East in a thousand years.”
Graham called on peace between Saudi Arabia and Israel in the wake of the military strikes on Iran. He said the operation in the region will be “extensive.”
“The operation has been well-planned. It will be violent, extensive and I believe, at the end of the day, successful,” Graham wrote on social media. “The demise of the ayatollah’s regime with American blood on its hands is necessary and more than justified.”
The War Powers Act requires hostilies to terminate 60 days after a vote unless Congress authorizes an extension or formally declares war.

Under President Donald Trump, the U.S. Coast Guard continues to break records.
Through Force Design 2028, made possible through a surge of $25 billion in federal funds, the Coast Guard is implementing major structural reforms. It has established a Deployable Specialized Forces Command, is expanding training capacity and is rapidly acquiring next-generation assets.
The surge of funding has enabled the Coast Guard to procure an estimated 17 new icebreakers, 21 new cutters, more than 40 helicopters and six C-130J aircraft and modernize its shore infrastructure and maritime surveillance systems. This will strengthen its ability to interdict illegal foreign nationals, drug and human traffickers at sea, strengthen search and rescue operations, enhance navigational safety and enable maritime trade, The Center Square reported. The maritime force, housed within the Department of Homeland Security, celebrates its 236th anniversary on Aug. 4.
In Trump’s first year in office, the Coast Guard broke recruitment records. It exceeded 110% of active-duty enlisted goals, reporting more than 6,000 new members, the highest since 1991. It’s also on track to expand its ranks by 15,000 members.
Under Trump, the Coast Guard also expanded border security efforts, ramping up interdictions at sea as well as providing support along the southwest border, The Center Square reported. This included deploying advanced unmanned systems and intelligence-driven patrols to secure more than 100,000 miles of the U.S. border.
Coast Guard crew interdicted, deterred or transported more than 12,000 illegal foreign nationals last year, representing an increase in interdictions of 44% in some regions, DHS says.
Since December, Coast Guard elite tactical teams working with the departments of War, Justice, and State, led operations against “dark fleet” ships, seizing nine illegal vessels, DHS says.
Last year, Coast Guard crew seized a record more than 547,000 pounds of illegal narcotics. This represents nearly three times the normal seizure average and a street value of more than $3.9 billion.
Coast Guard counter drug operations “disrupted transnational criminal organizations and prevented more than 206 million lethal doses from reaching U.S. communities,” DHS says, saving taxpayers more than “$10 billion in avoided costs, including $2.27 billion in healthcare expenses.”
Through thousands of search and rescue missions conducted last year, Coast Guard crew members saved more than 5,200 lives and protected more than $1 billion in property, DHS says. Among those saved were 165 people by Petty Officer 2nd Class Scott Ruskan during the Texas Hill Country flood disaster last July 4. Ruskan was awarded the Legion of Merit this week “for extraordinary heroism” while leading recovering efforts.
The Coast Guard also enabled the safe transport of 1.8 billion tons of cargo last year, an increase of 13% over the year. Coast Guard crew are projected to move $5.4 trillion in goods this year, DHS said.
During Winter Storm Fern alone, Coast Guard cutters implemented the largest domestic icebreaking operation in the U.S. in the Great Lakes region. They logged more than 3,245 ice-breaking hours to assist 142 vessels transit dangerous water, DHS said.
Federal funding is enabling the historic building of new ice breakers in shipyards in Galveston and Port Arthur, Texas and Lockport, Louisiana, The Center Square reported.
The Coast Guard has played a key role in national security since its founding, including during WWII in the Arctic. Under Trump, Coast Guard crew are expected to expand operations there as well.
Through Force Design 2028, the Coast Guard says it is “building a more agile, capable, and responsive fighting force to defeat adversaries and protect the Homeland.”

The Gang of Eight was briefed ahead of the U.S.-Israeli joint strikes against Iran, according to House Speaker Mike Johnson.
In a social media post Saturday morning, the Louisiana Republican said the eight members of Congress were briefed in detail earlier in the week by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The Gang of Eight is a reference to Johnson plus Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Mark Warner, D-Va., and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; and Reps. Rick Crawford, R-Ark., Jim Himes, D-Conn., and Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. The are chairmen of pivotal committees – Cotton and Warner from the Senate Committee on Intelligence; Crawford and Himes the House Committee on Intelligence; and respective majority and minority party leadership of each chamber, Thune and Schumer in the Senate and Johnson and Jeffries in the House.
Johnson wrote in part the group “was briefed in detail earlier this week that military action may become necessary to protect American citizens in Iran. I received updates from Secretary Rubio thereafter, and I will remain in close contact with the president and the Department of War as this operation proceeds.”
Jeffries put out a statement criticizing second-term Republican President Donald Trump. He said Trump “failed to seek congressional authorization prior to striking Iran,” and said the administration “must seek authorization for the preemptive use of military force that constitutes as an act of war.”
Declaration of “war” has not been made by Trump or his senior-most leaders.
Warner echoed Jeffries’ message, while acknowledging that the Islamic Republic’s “leadership has long supported terrorism across the region, undermined regional stability, continued to advance its nuclear ambitions, and brutally repressed its own people.”
However, the senator says that Congress “must be fully briefed,” with the Trump administration to make “clear legal justification” for actions in Iran.
Cotton came out in support of Trump’s decision to strike Iran, citing Iran’s history of supporting terrorism against the U.S.
Writing on social media, Cotton said in part, “A nuclear-weapons program. Thousands of missiles. State sponsorship of terror. Iran has waged war against the U.S. for 47 years: the hostage crisis, the Beirut Marine barracks, Khobar Towers, roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan that killed and maimed thousands of American soldiers, the attempted assassination of President Trump. The butcher’s bill has finally come due for the ayatollahs.”