Hundreds of Jews and Iranians rallied outside the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building in downtown Seattle on Sunday, calling for regime change in Iran and expressing solidarity with anti-government protesters within the country.
Demonstrators waved Lion and Sun flags, the historic Iranian national flag, as well as American and Israeli flags and posters of Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s last shah. A memorial display featured photos of slain Iranian protesters and a hostage poster of Ran Gvili, who was killed by Hamas during the terrorist group’s attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 and whose body terrorists still hold in Gaza.
The rally was organized by Homeira Bakhtiari, an Iranian-American activist, who told JNS that “the people of Iran have shown with utmost power that they desire the overthrow of the regime.”
“When and with how many deaths will the international community come to the aid of the people?” Bakhtiari said.
Mathew Patrick Thomas, a national committeeman for the Republican National Committee and finance chairman of the Washington state Republican Party, told rally attendees that U.S. political leaders are paying attention.
“The president wants regime change,” he told demonstrators. “I got a call on Monday from the White House. They go, ‘What are you doing, Matthew, with all those Iranians?’ I go, ‘They want regime change in Iran.’”
“I really do think this is the year,” Thomas told JNS. “We all want regime change in Iran. It’s an enemy of Western democracy.”
Shayan Arya, a human rights activist and member of the Constitutionalist Party of Iran, a monarchist political party in exile, led the crowd in chants in support of Pahlavi.
“He will return to Iran as he promised,” he said. “We will make Iran great again. Whether our enemies want it or not.”
In his remarks at the demonstration, Arya also highlighted the importance of Israel’s support and solidarity with the Jewish community.
“We have friends everywhere. We are not alone,” he said. “The entire nation of Israel is behind us, is standing by us.”
Arya told JNS that he “wanted to let all of our Jewish brothers and sisters in Israel and around the globe know that we stand by them to support them as they have been supporting us.”
“Stand with us as we stand with you, and together we will bring peace, prosperity and cooperation to the whole Middle East,” Arya said.
