LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – Nationwide protests in Iran have prompted internet blackouts and violence against demonstrators, including children.
According to experts and Iranian citizens in the commonwealth, the unrest affects Kentucky residents despite occurring more than 6,000 miles away.
Dr. Robert Farley, a senior lecturer at UK’s Patterson School of Diplomacy, said the conflict matters to Kentuckians because Iranian families live in the United States.
“It matters because there are Iranians who live here a lot of them in the United States not so many in Kentucky but there are a lot of families who live here,” Farley said.
Economic and military implications
Farley said conflict in Iran could result in U.S. military deployment or impact gas prices for Kentucky consumers.
“Consumers in Kentucky could feel some impact if there were some major prolong disruption to Iran,” he said.
2022 protests continue to resonate
In 2022, Iranian women protested after a woman was arrested for improperly wearing her hijab. Women across the world protested and cut their hair in solidarity.
Lexington immigration attorney Heather Hadi joined the movement at that time.
“When you see people oppressed all over the world it becomes a call for action,” Hadi said. “It really warmed my heart to see because these are people protesting because these are people being oppressed.”
Solidarity demonstrations
A protest took place Sunday in downtown Lexington.
Sardar Rahbar, an Iranian citizen studying civil engineering at UK, attended the demonstration.
“We came to say people of U.S. stand with us be the voice of us and spread our voice to the whole world,” Rahbar said.
Rahbar said internet blackouts prevent him from contacting family, causing sleepless nights. He showed a photo from Iranian streets.
“This is a photo in the street of Iran that they are calling for help from President Trump,” Rahbar said. “Of course President Trump is the only hope that we have.”
“There is no one who can say death to America or death to Israel the only thing that we want is death to the leader of Iran…that’s it,” he said.
Rahbar said protesters are afraid to return to Iran because officials will torture them.
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