'We are out of tears.' Americans share hope, concern after strikes

N'dea Yancey-Bragg and BrieAnna J. Frank, USA TODAY Mon, March 2, 2026 at 4:36 PM UTC

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As news broke that the United States launched military strikes across Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Americans thousands of miles away gathered nationwide as mixed emotions rippled through communities with close ties to the region.

Demonstrators gathered in U.S. cities, big and small, from New York City, Washington and Los Angeles to Waynesboro, Virginia, and Worcester, Massachusetts. In Detroit, student groups from various universities had been set for a demonstration Feb. 28 centered on U.S. immigration policy but added a protest to their plans upon learning of the Iran strikes.

More than 70 people showed up to Wayne State University's campus for the student-led demonstration that afternoon, the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported. Kathy Anderson of Plymouth, Michigan, lamented what she described as a deteriorating American political system, saying she was "embarrassed because we don't have our act together."

1 / 0Latest photos capture US and Israeli strikes against Iran

Smoke rises following an explosion, after Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, February 28, 2026.

"There has been no clear objective expressed in terms of why we're there," she said. "Are we there to destroy the nuclear program? Are we there to overturn the regime? Are we there to protect protesters? Why are we there?"

President Donald Trump and his administration have maintained that Iran was taking steps to build a nuclear weapon, posing a grave threat to the United States and its allies in the region. Experts have told USA TODAY such claims are based on assumptions that are either wrong or greatly exaggerated.

'You can’t bomb people into liberation'

According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released less than 48 hours after the United States and Israel launched their joint military operation, only 1 in 4 Americans approve of the Iran strikes. Speakers at a protest at Worcester City Hall in Massachusetts were skeptical of whether the strikes would improve Iranian lives, condemning what they described as the financial and moral cost of more warfare in the Middle East.

The strikes sparked fear among some that civil unrest in the country of 92 million people would cause more suffering. By midday Feb. 28, the Iranian Red Crescent reported that at least 200 people had been killed in the airstrikes and more than 700 wounded, including Khamenei, Iran's longtime leader known for repressive rule and anti-Western foreign policy.

At least three American troops were killed and several others were seriously injured during the operation.

Megan Giulianelli, who left Iran four decades ago and now lives in New Jersey, cried as she recounted hearing about a strike on an all-girls primary school that an Iranian official said had killed more than 100 people. Most Iranians, she said, wanted to end a regime that has been "terrorizing people for 47 years," but the joint strikes are "the worst-case scenario."

"You can’t bomb people into liberation," she said through tears. "What are they thinking?"

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'Price that’s really being paid.' Iranian Americans divided in reactions to US attacks

Student after strikes: 'We were waiting for this moment'

For others, the news of the strikes was welcomed with joy.

Some students at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee celebrated Khamenei's death with pastries in the school's student union. Narges Khodadadi, a PhD student and president of the school's Iranian Student Association, acknowledged concerns about the future but said she and many others in Iran, including her own family members, are happy and hopeful for brighter days ahead.

"We were waiting for this help and praying for it for a long time," Khodadadi told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network. "We had two very hard and sad months, and we were waiting for this moment."

Nafiseh Najafi, owner of a Persian restaurant in Nashville and who was born in Tehran, described the action as a necessary step toward liberation for the Iranian people.

"Iranians around the world are excited. They are happy," she said. "They are outside, they are celebrating."

1 / 0Americans protest 'massive' strikes in Iran amid US-Israeli attack

A person holds a sign during a Stop the War on Iran protest at Times Square in New York City on February 28, 2026. The US and Israel launched an attack of unprecedented scale against Iran on Saturday.

'We are out of tears'

R.A. Kashanipour, an Arizona-based Iranian American whose family mostly remains in Iran, had a different perspective. The conflict leaves Iranians "caught between authoritarians," he told The Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network.

He was worried the attack would lead to more violence among Iranians.

"Too much bloodshed has flowed already," Kashanipour told the outlet in a text message. "Unfortunately, it looks like there will be more to come. We are out of tears."

Bryan Costello, a Phoenix resident, called for the United States to "work towards peace" in an interview with the newspaper at the city’s March for Life rally Feb. 28.

"I understand that sometimes peace can only come by the sword, but we have to be more careful in how we do anything," he said.

Contributing: Michael Collins and Francesca Chambers, USA TODAY; Natalie Davies, The Detroit Free Press; Alec Johnson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; Meg Trogolo, Telegram & Gazette; Hannan Adely, The Record; Molly Davis, The Tennessean; Jose R. Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Americans express shock and hope after deadly US-Israel strikes

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