![\"Iranian](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/yatlsiozfo9gjr4s.jpg\")
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LOS ANGELES<\/strong> – Fear and anxiety are growing in Southern California<\/a>\u2019s Iranian-American community as deadly anti-government protests continue to unfold in Iran<\/a>.<\/p>\n Los Angeles<\/a> is home to the largest Iranian population outside Iran, with an estimated 125,000 Iranians living across the region. Many say they are glued to their phones and televisions, worried about family and friends as demonstrations and violence escalate overseas.<\/p>\n In the Westwood area \u2013 often referred to as “Little Tehran” \u2013 residents described a mix of anger, grief and helplessness as reports emerge of widespread crackdowns by Iranian authorities.<\/p>\n “It\u2019s an oppressive regime killing its own people for rebelling,” said Seena K., whose family is from Iran.<\/p>\n For weeks, millions of Iranians have taken to the streets demanding political change. The government has responded with internet blackouts, mass arrests and deadly force. Human rights groups estimate at least 2,500 people have been killed since the protests began.<\/p>\n “Anybody who is on this regime\u2019s side \u2014 you must be deranged,” Seena said.<\/p>\n Former President Donald Trump weighed in Tuesday, urging Iranians to continue protesting and warning those responsible for killing demonstrators that they will be held accountable.<\/p>\n Local faith leaders with ties to Iran say watching the violence from afar has been agonizing.<\/p>\n “Iran is bleeding right now,” said Pastor Ara Torosian of Cornerstone West L.A. Church, who moved to the United States from Iran 15 years ago. “We need help from Western countries. People are being killed in the streets. There\u2019s bloodshed everywhere.”<\/p>\n Torosian said he has heard devastating accounts directly from people in Iran.<\/p>\n “Today I heard stories from our people back home \u2014 so many people were killed,” he said. “It\u2019s a massacre. It\u2019s a genocide.”<\/p>\n As the unrest continues, Iranian Americans in Los Angeles say they are left waiting, watching and hoping for change.<\/p>\n “We need a free Iran,” Torosian said.<\/p>\n An Iranian freedom rally is planned for Sunday afternoon in downtown Los Angeles outside the federal building.<\/p>\n Los Angeles<\/a>Westwood<\/a>World<\/a>Protests<\/a>Iran<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LOS ANGELES – Fear and anxiety are growing in Southern California\u2019s Iranian-American community as deadly anti-government protests continue…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":514840,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,276,83,2961,26074,224,6080,5337,50,7237,68,8056,103],"class_list":{"0":"post-514839","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-iran","11":"tag-la","12":"tag-la-los-angeles-county","13":"tag-los-angeles","14":"tag-los-angeles-county","15":"tag-losangeles","16":"tag-news","17":"tag-protests","18":"tag-us","19":"tag-westwood","20":"tag-world"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115891926750269468","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514839","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=514839"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/514839\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/514840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=514839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=514839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=514839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}