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Iranian Americans in Kansas City rallied Sunday in solidarity with protesters in Iran, demanding civil liberties and regime change as demonstrations continue to rock major Iranian cities.
"They have closed the internet, and they are killing people," said Ali Nikaeen, an Iranian American protester who joined the Kansas City demonstration.
The local Iranian community is demanding change as protests against Iran's leadership erupt in Tehran, Mashhad and other major cities.
According to the Associated Press, the death toll in Iranian protests climbed to at least 544 this weekend.
The demonstrations began in Iran in late December following the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, trading at over $1.4 million to $1.
Iran's economy is being pinched by international sanctions over its nuclear program. The protests have grown and intensified as residents call for a change in leadership.
"We want a democracy for Iran. We want exactly what American people have," Nikaeen said.
President Donald Trump told members of the media on Friday the U.S. will intervene if Iranian leaders kill protesters.
"Iran's in big trouble," Trump said. "We're watching the situation very carefully."
Some Kansas City protesters support U.S. intervention, with limitations, to promote regime change.
"If they can support Iranian people by enforcing more embargoes or hitting the riot police, yes, I want that," Nikaeen said.
Matt Harris, associate professor of political science at Park University, said potential U.S. intervention could involve airstrikes.
"We're probably talking about airstrikes or things like that," Harris said.
Harris noted there's hesitancy to put boots on the ground in Iran while gauging public appetite for long-term conflict.
"Those things can turn very quickly, as we saw in Afghanistan and Iraq," he said.
Protest organizer Mercedeh Tavacoli hopes any intervention does less harm to the people and more good.
"I hope he (Trump) does it in a manner to support the people and not hurt the people more [than] the regime is currently doing at the moment," Tavacoli said.
For Dr. Tirdad Daei — an Iranian American protester whose father was a political prisoner who was beaten and tortured — the situation is deeply personal. He believes the U.S. can help provide a future for his home country.
"The United States is the beacon of freedom to the entire world," Daei said. "Everything I am today [is] because of [the] United States. I will defend this country until my last breath... Any help would be appreciated, not necessarily boots on the ground. Iranian people are on the streets fighting, but some way to provide some cover there ... because they are not able to fight with bullets. They’re fighting with empty hands."
Harris cautioned that building democracy takes time and capacity.
"Building democracy or building something that the people want, it takes time, it takes capacity," Harris said. "There’s only so much the United States can have on its plate at one time. Some sort of limited strike is not straining its capacity... Democracy is something you have to work to build. I definitely think there’s appetite for that."
As the U.S. considers its next steps, Iranian Americans in Kansas City continue advocating for their homeland.
"People are asking for basic human rights, dignity," Daei said.
As for a timeline on when a U.S. intervention could take place, Trump has not said directly when that might be.
Operation Midnight Hammer, a military strike launched in June 2025 on Iran's nuclear site, happened very quickly and practically overnight, Harris said. That mission utilized Missouri's Whiteman Air Force Base.
Harris went on to explain the same goes for the swift Jan. 3 capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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