Hundreds rally against U.S.-Israel operations in Iran

  Demonstrators joined the nationwide mobilization effort on March 8 at City Market Park, opposing the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran. 

  PSL held a similar emergency protest on Feb. 28, hours after the U.S. President Donald Trump announced war on Iran through Truth Social. Since the announcement, the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran has widened across the Middle East.

  “We’ve been crying all week,” said 39-year-old Megan Aghili. “The images coming out of Iran are absolutely horrifying, and we do not agree with the regime. We think the regime has been so cruel to the people, but this is not the way to set people away from it.”

  Aghlili said she and her husband were awake as reports surfaced of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) striking Tehran. With relatives in the capital city, they received images from her husband’s family of bombs dropping near their homes, stating that “thousands of bombs were dropping a day.”

  The joint U.S.-Israeli Operation Epic Fury stated plans to dismantle Iranian arms security, issuing targets on missile infrastructure, oil storage depots, and refining facilities.

  But the bombing campaign has also struck neighborhoods, commercial centers, hospitals, and school buildings. The Iranian Red Crescent Society reported that over 3,600 civilian sites have been damaged since the initial strikes.

  According to Iran’s Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, the death toll surpassed 1,200 people within a week. 

  “We live in a very White suburb of Kansas City,” Aghlili said. “When we walk out into the world, it feels like nobody knows what’s going on. Meanwhile, our personal lives feel like we’ve completely stopped.”

  Meagan Chaudoin, a 38-year-old attendee, said that while the volume of news feels “overwhelming,” American headlines and talking points often obfuscate or skim details.

  “You really have to do your work and dig in to see what’s going on truly,” Chaudoin said. “We are killing women. We are killing children, hospitals, and nobody knows about it.”

Holly Smith, a 28-year-old attendee, incorporated several elements to represent that the citizens have also become the journalists: “We’re also the artist, the child, and the bystander. We’re the citizens – we’re the ones being silent.”

  Some UMKC students expressed similar sentiments.

  “So much nuance is being missed,” said Zoe Meins, a junior in trumpet performance. “The conversations about this war that are currently happening don’t seem to be taking into account the historical implications and the abuse that has been taking place for decades.”

  Nancy Jaeger, a UMKC psychology major, said that the war on Iran will only help Trump’s “own bottom line.”

  “I believe that Iran’s government is cruel, but I do not believe that is why our president went in,” Jaeger said. “I have not seen any help to the American people from what he has done – so far, only harm. I believe that he will end up in a war that we cannot finish.”

  Participating organizations included Kansas City Democratic Socialists of America (KCDSA), Physicians for Social Responsibility KC, Veterans for Peace of Kansas City, and Free Palestine KC (FPKC).

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