Los Angeles is home to the highest number of Iranian Americans in the United States. Since the U.S. and Israel launched missile strikes in Iran on Feb. 28, protests have criticized the escalating conflict, while celebrations have simultaneously taken place after Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the strikes. 

At USC, Iran’s future has been part of campus conversation. On Sept. 16, 2025, Reza Pahlavi, the son of the deposed shah of Iran, came to the Town and Gown ballroom to present his strategy for Iran’s future. During anti-regime protests in Iran in January, USC students hosted a vigil near Tommy Trojan to mourn the thousands of activists in Iran who had been killed by the government.

The Daily Trojan interviewed experts on the Middle East and U.S. politics to explain the conflict and discuss how it has affected USC students. Reporters also interviewed students and faculty with connections to the countries involved in the conflict, who said they felt mixed emotions during unpredictable times.

Faculty across USC untangle Iran strikes

Ciruce Movahedi-Lankarani, the Farhang Foundation Chair in Iranian Studies, said tensions in the Persian Gulf region could affect students who don’t have family in the region. Countries in the region are major suppliers of energy to the world, controlling a large amount of the world’s oil and natural gas. 

“There’s a lot of economic activity in the Gulf region that if those are disrupted or changed, can have effects on people’s personal or professional lives,” Movahedi-Lankarani said. “Gas prices are already climbing in this country. So far, it’s not a lot, but they are going up because oil is becoming more expensive because of the tensions in the Gulf.”

Movahedi-Lankarani also said that missile strikes from Iran that hit Amazon Web Services facilities in the United Arab Emirates on March 2 have slowed internet speed in the region, which can have repercussions for financial systems. 

Kamy Akhavan, managing director of the Dornsife Center for the Political Future, said the around 140,000 Iranians in Los Angeles are “thrilled” about the U.S.-Israeli strikes. Akhavan said some Iranian Americans view the strikes positively because Khamenei — who was killed in the Feb. 28 strikes — presided over a regime widely criticized for repressing dissent, particularly women’s rights. The strikes, he said, signaled to some Iranian Americans that the world was “stepping up.”

“We can go back to how things used to be 47 years ago, when people like my parents used to go to nightclubs, drink, dance to James Brown — where my mom would wear a mini skirt and go-go boots,” Akhavan said. “For many Iranians, they’re like: ‘Finally, someone is stepping up to do something about this horrible humanitarian situation and take out … one of the most brutal dictatorships on the planet today.’”

But at the same time, Akhavan said that in trying to stop nondemocratic behavior in Iran, President Donald Trump acted without congressional authorization — which he called “undemocratic.” He said such authorization is constitutionally required before major military action. 

One factor Laurie Brand, a professor emerita of political science and international relations as well as Middle East studies, attributes to Trump escalating tensions in Iran is his close relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Brand said that Netanyahu has pushed for the U.S. to attack Iran for over three decades and that Trump is not restrained by the same political pressures that constrained previous presidents. 

“[Trump] has very little understanding of foreign policy … [and], in many ways, has very little interest in it beyond what kind of real estate developments he can get involved in and how much money he can make out of it,” Brand said. “It’s kind of a reality show for [Trump]. American soldiers die. He doesn’t care. Billions of dollars [are] spent on this. He doesn’t care.”

Another reason for escalating tensions, Movahedi-Lankarani said, could be a combination of the month of protests in Iran against Khamenei and the Trump administration’s different approach to Iran.

“Most U.S. administrations have taken a much more careful approach to Iran, less willing to potentially destabilize the region or destabilize the world energy markets,” Movahedi-Lankarani said. “But the Trump administration seems to put a priority on not those things. It’s much more unpredictable. [It] reaches much more quickly for the use of military power.” 

For Middle Eastern students, the conflict has been ‘disruptive’

Movahedi-Lankarani said that major conflicts overseas can make it difficult for students to live their everyday lives, doing homework and studying for midterms, while there is a major conflict overseas. He also said that USC has a relatively large population of students with Iranian or Persian heritage. 

“For them, … [the conflict,] if not personal … it is familial,” he said. 

Brand said USC students who hail from across the Eastern Mediterranean and Persian Gulf may be worried about relatives, as telecommunications connections have been cut or become spotty in the region. 

“There are people who have had to evacuate their hometowns or their cities,” Brand said. “Trying to keep track of where relatives [are] is also extremely upsetting. I imagine that emotions from anger to upset to fear — all of which impact the way that students can go about just trying to be regular students: carrying on the regular studies, going to class. It’s extremely disruptive.” 

Mahbod Zadeh, a senior majoring in health and human sciences as well as pursuing a master’s degree in global medicine, said this is an emotional time with complex feelings for many members of the Iranian diaspora. In conversations with Persian friends, Zadeh said a vast majority support regime change because of the current government’s oppression. 

“I’ve had friends who are non-Iranians and professors who are non-Iranians … after I tell them about the stories about how it is actually to live under this regime,” Zadeh said. “Once they see that perspective from someone who’s Persian, who’s Iranian, they would have this understanding, which has been very welcoming.”

Zadeh previously wrote about the Iranian protest movement in a Feb. 25 letter to the editor, describing watching protest videos from his dorm and reflecting on the violence faced by demonstrators. 

Akhavan said the best antidote for fear and uncertainty is thoughtful engagement with peers. 

“Share out loud what it is, how you’re feeling, how you’re thinking about this, how you’re processing this,” Akhavan said. “Ask questions, be curious. Those will lead to conversations. Those conversations will lead to growth.”