Hope, heartbreak and hesitation: LA's Iranian community dares to hope for ‘regime change'
But as he stands among his dates, dried plums and pistachios, he also cherishes the hope of change in his native country.
Iran 'is not capable of providing food to the Persian people,' said Ghafari, who left to study abroad before the 1979 revolution and never returned.
'If the people (there) were happy about a change of regime, I would be too.'
'Everyone would be happy,' agreed Fereshteh, one of his customers and a fellow resident of so-called 'Tehrangeles' — a mash-up of Tehran and Los Angeles.
For Fereshteh, who gave only her first name to protect her identity, 'Donald Trump is a hero.'
The American president ordered strikes against three Iranian nuclear sites last weekend, providing unprecedented support to Israel in its offensive against Iran.
He even raised the possibility of 'regime change,' before backing away and saying it would sow chaos.
Any talk of ousting Iran's clerical leadership resonates strongly in the Los Angeles area, where nearly 200,000 Iranian-Americans live, making the Californian metropolis the diaspora's global hub.
Many of its members live in the west end of the city, near the UCLA campus.
Filled with Middle Eastern grocery stores, carpet merchants and bookstores selling books in Farsi, the neighbourhood is also known as 'Little Persia.'
The immigrants who have made it their home include minorities often seen as discriminated against in Iran, such as Jews, Christians and Assyrians.
A US flag hangs in a street of Los Angeles' 'Little Persia' where about 500,000 Iranian-Americans live, in Los Angeles, California June 21, 2025. — Reuters pic
'Rise up'
'It's time for the Iranian people to rise up, because right now, the regime is very weak,' said Fereshteh, herself Jewish, who fled Iran in the 1980s during the war between her country and Iraq.
Trump was elected on a promise to focus on America and stay out of foreign wars.
But among the grocery store's customers, some would like him to push his intervention in Iran to the limit.
'We should send troops there,' says Mehrnoosh, a 45-year-old woman who arrived in the United States in 2010.
'The people there have their hands tied,' she said, adding that 'the regime killed so many Iranians three years ago during the protests following the death of Mahsa Amini,' a student arrested for allegedly flouting dress rules for women.
But on the patio of the 'Taste of Tehran' restaurant, one man hopes the United States will pull back to avoid its fate in Iraq and Afghanistan.
'Change by force never pays off... Change must come from within, by the people, for the people, and we're not there yet,' said the 68-year-old engineer, who wished to remain anonymous.
The conflict has so far claimed more than 600 lives in Iran and 28 in Israel, according to authorities in both countries.
A fragile ceasefire in the war between Iran and Israel war appeared to be holding on Tuesday — a relief for the engineer, who had recently spoken to his aunt on the phone.
For several days, she fled Tehran for the northwest of the country to escape Israeli bombardments.
'Is it worth it? Absolutely not,' he said, recalling he lost his grandparents to bombs during the Iran-Iraq War. 'My hope is for all this to end soon.' — AFP
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