DETROIT — Soheila Boojari watched on television as the country she lives in dropped bombs on the country she came from.

She was relieved to see what could be the end of the Iranian regime that had ruled with violent suppression for decades. She couldn't quite believe it, but she felt happiness along with her tears.

"At the same time we are very worried of our people," she said.

Boojari of Commerce Township was one of the organizers of a rally in downtown Detroit on Sunday, thanking the United States and Israel for launching strikes against Iran that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"Because they really helped Iran," Boojari said. "They really acted. They didn't just say words."

Boojari is a member of the group Freedom4Iran, which organized the rally. Banners waved that said "Thank You Trump," "Freedom for Iran," "Make Iran Great Again." They marched on Woodward Avenue, ending the journey at Campus Martius park with dancing, singing and chanting. Boojari said they will continue to meet and march every weekend until Iran has a new democratic government in place.

President Donald Trump ordered the attack Saturday after a weeks-long effort by U.S. allies in the Middle East, including Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Trump ordered a massive aerial campaign against Iran’s leadership and military, which led to the death of the Islamic Republic's Khamenei, 86, and several other senior Iranian officials.

Saturday’s attack was a break from decades of U.S. decision-making to hold back from a full-scale effort to depose the regime of a country of more than 90 million people.

Democrats, Muslim groups criticize decision to intervene

Reaction across Michigan has been mixed, and even those who denounced Khamenei's leadership have issued concerns about what comes next.

Former Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, in Detroit on Saturday, condemned the intervention.

"I know the threat that Iran poses, and they must never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon, but this is not the way to dismantle that threat," she said.

U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, said Trump owes it to the American people to not rush into war without a clear goal. She said Congress should go back to Washington to debate the issue.

"As a former CIA officer who served three tours in Iraq, I have no love lost for the Iranian government," Slotkin said. "They're a state sponsor of terror, responsible for the deaths of Americans. I saw it up close in Iraq and elsewhere."

But Slotkin argued Trump hasn't "made his case to the American people."

"He hasn’t laid out the goals or the imminent threat posed by Iran that justifies risking a wider regional war," she said. "And he hasn't followed the Constitution and brought this issue before Congress before committing our nation to war."

U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor, said Trump's decision to use military force without authorization from Congress is "unconstitutional."

"Congress has the sole power to declare war, and these decisions must be debated before the public," Dingell wrote. "We have all seen the brutality of the Iranian regime, including through its violent killing of protesters."

The Imams Council of Michigan issued a statement Saturday morning condemning the aggression against Iran and calling for an immediate ceasefire. The council said Iran poses no imminent threat to the U.S. and said the use of force while diplomatic talks and negotiations were ongoing was "premature and unjustifiable."

U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, too, posted on X several times Saturday, critiquing Trump's actions. She said the U.S. and Israel don't care about the laws or that the American people do not want a war with Iran.

Tlaib also sent out a press release saying Trump is "acting on the violent fantasies of the American political elite and the Israeli apartheid government, ignoring the vast majority of Americans who say loud and clear: No More Wars."

The launch of the attacks sent protesters to Jefferson Avenue in Detroit on Saturday, organized by the Moratorium Now! Coalition, Anti-Fascist Organizing Committee and other groups, said organizer Abayomi Azikiwe. They carried signs that said "No War with Iran" and "Stop the Gangster Diplomacy.

“We're here to condemn the Trump administration for this genocide attack against the Iranian people,” Azikiwe said. “This is totally unjustified. They have been engaged in negotiations for the last several weeks in Oman, and right in the middle of the negotiations, they start bombing. So it's outrageous.”

Pam Friday of Dexter stood quietly Saturday as she held a “No War” sign. She said she felt sick when she learned about the strike in Iran.

“The sadness that comes because this keeps happening,” she said. “The hate just keeps making more hate.”

'War is never one-sided'

Meanwhile, conservatives like U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Caledonia, supported the operation, saying in a press release Saturday that the Iranians for nearly five decades have "targeted Americans and our allies, oppressed its people, funded terrorist activity around the world, and sought to develop a nuclear weapon."

“After Operation Midnight Hammer, those ambitions were destroyed, but the regime attempted to rebuild its capabilities," Moolenaar said. "President Trump gave the Ayatollah a clear warning: dismantle your missile program or face further destruction. The regime ignored those warnings with plans to develop an ICBM that could reach the United States. God bless the brave members of the United States Armed Forces and I pray for their safety.”

Doron Levin, an Israeli-born Detroit journalist and former officer for the Israel Defense Forces, said he was "quite glad" the former leader was no longer in power in Iran.

"I'm very anxious to see a new regime get started soon, and ends up being a democratic regime and a stable regime," he said.

Levin, who has dual American and Israeli citizenship and lives in Bloomfield Hills, said he hoped many who had left Iran could find a way to come back and help lead the country into a new future.

"Someone has to really figure out a way to organize a type of government that can really take this country and this civilization and put it back on the right track," he said.

Iran's response to being bombed was not surprising, Levin said, as retaliatory missiles struck targets across the Middle East, including in Israel.

"Warfare is never one-sided," he said.

Marchers declare thanks to the U.S. and Israel

Nahal Meshinchi of Ann Arbor, who marched in the rally Sunday, said they were asking "for basic human rights for all Iranians."

"A simple request: freedom for all, but specifically for Iranians now," she said.

The 49-year-old lived in Iran until she was 26.

"It started with minority, but right now even majority of people don't have basic human rights," she said. "A simple peaceful protest like this would result in their death."

She held a "Thanks USA" banner with Joshua Schmidt of St. Louis, Missouri.

Schmidt, who was on vacation in Detroit, wanted to join the celebration, seeing the group walk through downtown, and said that Iranians' freedom represented a spiritual "fulfilling of prophecy."

"I've been waiting on this for hundreds of thousands of years, so for me, it's a Biblical thing," Schmidt, 45, said. "They've been oppressed ... under Islamic control. It's great they're breaking the chains and that the USA is part of that."

Shiva Maleki of Dearborn said she came to the U.S. from Iran in 2019 to pursue her education and hasn't been able to see her family. She thanked the U.S. for its intervention.

"I'm pretty sure that after regime change in Iran, the world will be more beautiful, nicer and peaceful," Maleki.

She said her people were celebrating because it was "just the beginning" for Iran.

"We won't stop until this regime is gone and until Islam is entirely removed from Iran," she said.

Majid Aalizadeh of Dearborn said he lived in Iran until he was 23 years old and also came to the U.S. to further his education. He said it was "taboo" to criticize the regime when he was younger.

"I was being suppressed by my own family and people that were close to me," said Aalizadeh, 32. "On a personal level, I have paid the price through mental health."

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