In Milwaukee, support for, and protests against, US-Israeli bombing campaign in Iran
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The ongoing US military operation in Iran is sparking complicated emotions in Milwaukee, and varied reactions.
Some people are opposing the human cost of the bombing campaign, and protesters continue to rail against an operation they see as illegal.
Others are telling us it's necessary, like an Iranian man who has watched from afar as his country and family were oppressed and brutalized for decades.
He says Iran has been waiting for a moment like this.
Ali Soltani is a spokesperson for the Iranian American Community of Wisconsin. He told us Monday, March 2, "Whatever weakens the regime is good for the people."
As long, Soltani said, as it does not leave a power vacuum that could be filled by a foreign government or influence.
Many Iranians believe democracy is only attainable if the regime is toppled. And for many, like Soltani, using force is necessary, like the US-Israeli bombing operation.
"We have been fighting for the last 120 years, since our constitutional revolution, to get here," Soltani said.
Soltani was forced to leave his native Iran in 1978, just before Ayatollah Khomeini took control.
Now, he says, organized resistance fighters need to fight off the rest of the regime.
"So, you really need boots on the ground," Soltani said. "And we don't want foreign boots on the ground. The United States doesn't want foreign boots on the ground."
For now.
Many people throughout the US and around the world are opposed to the US-Israeli involvement.
Elsewhere in Milwaukee, protesters called for an end to the bombing, saying civilians are suffering and US leaders are not being held accountable.
"Once again, ordinary people, not political leaders, are paying the price," said one protester.
They fear the same power vacuum Soltani cautioned against.
Joseph Hamilton, a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, told us, "But, what ends up following is usually years of bloody civil war. Sometimes the government in place doesn't ever actually get toppled."
But Monday's protest stood in stark contrast to a gathering the day before, March 1, where Iranians celebrated Ayatollah Khamenei's death.
At that gathering, Parya Payami, a PhD student at UW-Milwaukee, said, "I was shaking with happy tears. I really couldn't believe I would be alive to see him gone."
With developments changing every day, it's impossible to predict the future.
But so far, some Iranians, like Ali Soltani, are encouraged. "With a bully, you cannot talk with these people, the only language they understand is language of force."
Soltani said his family in Iran is okay, and they just moved out of Tehran for a safer city.
As for the protesters, there are nationwide efforts to continue coordinated protests around the country.