Iran US Diaspora
Farid, who gave only his first name, from Iran, works at Jordan Market, a Middle Eastern and Persian market along Westwood Boulevard, in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, pauses next to The Lion and Sun flags, the pre-revolution Iranian national flag, at the heart of the largest Iranian diaspora community in the United States, Monday, March 2, 2026.
As featured on
Many in the Iranian American diaspora spent the weekend glued to their TVs, watching news of U.S. and Israeli bombs falling on Iran, some hoping for a brighter future for their homeland but terrified relatives would suffer harm. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who violently crushed dissent in his decadeslong rule of the country, was killed early in the U.S. and Israeli attack. In the United States, many celebrated, some taking to the streets to cheer the toppling of the man they saw as a tyrant. But many said the remain worried for their families in Iran and for what comes next even as the war continues.
