KSHB 41 reporter Fernanda Silva covers stories in the Northland, including Liberty. She also focuses on issues surrounding immigration. Share your story idea with Fernanda.
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A Kansas City-area Iranian American woman says the moment she heard about the U.S. attacks in Iran felt surreal. She also said a protest planned for Sunday at Mill Creek Park will feel different this time.
Mercedeh Tavacoli has spent years organizing local protests in support of Iran.
Tavacoli explained the news of the strikes and the death of Iran's supreme leader brought both celebration and anxiety.
“It was definitely not the news we were anticipating, but it was news we had long been hoping for,” Tavacoli said. “I think for everyone, it's taken a minute to actually grasp the fact that this has happened.”
One of her immediate concerns was reaching family overseas.
“We immediately called our family in Iran to see if they had heard anything," she said. "Since then, we haven't been able to reach them because the government has shut down the internet once again."
Tavacoli said it's been a long time coming.
In 2018, Tavacoli began organizing protests in support of Iran.
On Sunday, another protest is planned at Mill Creek Park. Tavacoli said she believes it will feel different.
“It's going to be a little bit more celebratory,” she said.
Local leaders also reacted to the news.
“With the change of leadership in Iran, I am not unhappy,” Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II told KSHB. “Iran is a bad actor. They have created a great deal of turbulence and turmoil all over the Middle East.”
Rep. Mark Alford also responded to the news.
“These actions will provide an opportunity for the Iranian people to free themselves from the shackles of tyranny and oppression,” Alford said in a YouTube video.
However, leaders do not agree on the legality of the strike. Cleaver raised concerns about the War Powers Act.
“The War Powers Act requires that the president come to Congress, and the president has not done that. So we're kind of left in the dark,” Cleaver said.
Alford disagreed.
“The War Powers Act clearly provides the president with this authority, while requiring proper notification of Congress, which I believe we will receive in the coming days,” Alford said.
Leaders from both sides of the state line shared their reactions on social media.
In Missouri, U.S. Rep. Sam Graves wrote that “President Trump took decisive action to protect our service members, our homeland, and our national security before that threat could grow."
In Kansas, U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall and Congressman Derek Schmidt offered prayers to the U.S. Armed Forces.
Rep. Sharice Davids stated she believes “in the Iranian people's right to self-determination” and that she is “committed to Iran never developing nuclear weapon capabilities."
She added, however, that “costly, endless wars without congressional authorization are not the answer."
Tavacoli says this goes beyond politics.
“It's not a left or right issue — it's a human rights issue,” she said.
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