War Divides Iranians in Diaspora

Peyvand Khorsandi was only four years old when his family left Iran for the UK in 1976, three years before the Islamic Revolution. His father, Hadi, a renowned Iranian satirical poet, survived an assassination attempt in 1984 that the family attributes to Tehran.

Despite such a past, Khorsandi opposes the US-Israel war against Iran, arguing that the conflict has revitalized the government and dealt a heavy blow to the pro-democracy opposition.

"It's disappointing and saddening," he told Al Jazeera.

Khorsandi is among many Iranians abroad caught in the paradox of opposing both the government and the war against Iran. The conflict began on February 28 when the US and Israel launched a joint air campaign against Iran, sending shockwaves through the global economy, driving energy prices up, and killing thousands of civilians, mostly in Iran and Lebanon.

The Iranian diaspora is now deeply divided. Many in the West support attacks on their homeland, while others oppose them. Those backing the air strikes largely rally around Reza Pahlavi, son of the monarch toppled in 1979. Conversely, people like Khorsandi reject Pahlavi's stance.

"What the Pahlavi supporters represent is dangerous. I think he is an enthusiastic servant of the Israeli government," Khorsandi said, calling the war a "racist war" and saying that the lives of people in the Global South are seen as cheap.

Humanitarian Justification for Attacks Begins to Crumble

The US-Israel war against Iran is seen as a one-sided choice. US intelligence concluded Tehran was not seeking to weaponize its nuclear program before the conflict erupted. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu initially justified the war on humanitarian grounds, but that argument began to crumble just hours after the war broke out, when an elementary school for girls in the southern city of Minab was bombed, killing at least 170 people, most of them children. Evidence reviewed by news agencies and human rights organizations indicates the school was hit by a US strike. Pahlavi did not condemn the incident but instead blamed Tehran, accusing the government of using victims as "human shields."

Meanwhile, Netanyahu remains under an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for war crimes related to the Gaza campaign, which a UN investigation concluded was genocide. The Iranian government has also been accused by Amnesty International of exploiting the war for systematic repression, detaining thousands of activists, journalists, and lawyers in unfair trials.

The latest US intervention reminds many Iranians of the legacy of Mohammad Mossadegh, the democratically elected prime minister toppled in a 1953 coup orchestrated by the CIA and MI6 after he nationalized the oil industry. Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright admitted in 2000 that Washington played a significant role in the coup, calling it a "setback for Iran's political development."

Roxane Farmanfarmaian, a lecturer in international relations at the University of Cambridge, notes that Iranians at home had hoped Trump would bring change, but most have been disappointed. She believes that even if the Iranian government changes, the diaspora is unlikely to find common ground.

"Iran Is Confronting an Empire"

Naz Radboy, an Iranian-American raised in the US and the UK, maintains deep ties to her homeland. For her, the war is a manifestation of US imperialism against a government that refuses to submit to Washington. Radboy supports Iran's leadership and says she has paid a heavy price for that stance.

"Iran is confronting an empire, and I stand with Iran and the institutions that protect the country," she said. "Iran does not exist in a vacuum. It exists in an international order dominated by an empire, with military bases surrounding the region, crippling sanctions, and regime-change campaigns across the Global South."

The war remains at a stalemate. Despite the US's overwhelming military superiority, Iran still controls the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world's crude oil and liquefied natural gas pass. This is seen as Tehran's biggest leverage in negotiations with Washington. Gulf leaders are pushing for a de-escalation deal to reopen the strait, which has been closed since the conflict began.

For Radboy, what needs to end is not just the war but also the calls from fellow Iranians for the destruction of Iran. "I have seen people so consumed by hatred for the Islamic Republic that they are willing to sacrifice Iran itself. Civilians may die, the economy may collapse, infrastructure may be destroyed as long as it weakens the government," she said.