Calgary Iranians call for regime change at downtown rally, while others mourn Khamenei’s death | CBC News
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Persian music and loud cheers echoed through downtown Calgary at a Sunday afternoon city hall rally, where members of the city’s Iranian community gathered to call for the Islamic Republic regime to be overthrown.
More than 2,000 people were there to celebrate the aftermath of Saturday’s attack on Iran, in which numerous leaders of the Islamic Republic — including Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — were killed by American and Israeli airstrikes.
“The moment that we heard about the death of the dictator Ali Khamenei, we were so happy,” said rallygoer Ali Ebr. “Yesterday, actually last night, we were outside, we were chanting, we were dancing and everybody is so happy.”
Ebr’s friend Alireza Haji, a fellow Iranian, echoed that sentiment.
“People are very happy about it,” Haji said. “And they feel to share that joy with each other, dancing and mark that day.”
Khamenei, who played a key role in the 1979 Iranian Revolution which saw the Islamic Republic take power, served as Iran’s supreme leader for 36 years before his assassination.
“The regime hasn’t fallen yet, but we think that it’s very close,” said Haji.
Haji said he wants to see the Islamic Republic regime overthrown, but with no more civilian casualties.
According to Iranian authorities, more than 200 people have died in the country since the U.S. and Israel launched their attacks Saturday. State media reported that an airstrike at an elementary girls’ school in the southern Iran city of Minab killed 165 people.
“Basically, the safe transition between this regime and the next regime is important for us,” Haji said.
A three-person body will take on the duties of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei following his killing by U.S. and Israeli strikes on Saturday. A so-called Assembly of Experts will be tasked with eventually selecting a new head of state.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has said he supports American military action to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, but that Canada was not involved in planning or executing the current military campaign against Iran.
In the wake of the attacks, Iran has launched numerous retaliatory strikes against Israel and other Middle Eastern countries.
As of Sunday, the Canadian government is warning Canadians to avoid all travel to Iran, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Iraq, and to avoid non-essential travel to Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Oman.
Rally held to mourn Khamenei
Prior to the cheerful celebration at city hall, a smaller and more somber gathering was held there.
A rally earlier on Sunday brought supporters of Khamenei and his regime to city hall, where more than 150 people mourned the Ayatollah’s death and condemned the ongoing military campaign against Iran.
Mohammad Alamatsaz, a rallygoer who immigrated from Iran as a child, said Khamenei had been a voice for the oppressed.
“He was not just a leader for the Iranian people,” he said. “He was a voice for everybody who stands up against injustice or, you know, against the oppression that we are seeing on our phones every day.”
Alamatsaz said he and others at that rally had gathered to show that “in Calgary, [Khamenei] has people who heard his voice and who followed him.”
Countless rallies have been held across Canada and the world since Saturday’s strikes, both in support of and against the U.S.-Israeli attacks.