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Photos: Celebrations and protests in LA after the Iran strikes

People wave flags against the backdrop of a clear blue sky and palm trees.
A man raises the historical Iranian Lion and Sun flag during a rally in the Westwood neighborhood on Saturday.
(
Genaro Molina
/
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
)

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Angelenos took to the streets of downtown Los Angeles and Westwood on Saturday in response to the U.S.-Israeli military strikes in Iran.

A coalition of organizations, including the National Iranian American Council, the ANSWER coalition and 50501, held protests nationwide to oppose U.S. intervention.

Local demonstrations took place outside City Hall in downtown Los Angeles, as well as in Ventura and Orange counties.

In Westwood, Iranian Americans gathered to celebrate the strikes. More demonstrations are planned for today and tomorrow.

In LA

An outsized portion of the Iranian diaspora make their homes in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

  • As of 2019, nearly 140,000 immigrants from Iran — representing more than one in three of all Iranian immigrants in the U.S. — lived in the L.A. area.
  • More than 500,000 people of Iranian descent are estimated to live here, which is why a part of the westside of Los Angeles is known as Tehrangeles.
  • More than half of all Iranian immigrants to the U.S. live in California overall.

Here are photos from Saturday.

Westwood

A group of people holding Iranian flags on a city street.
Hundreds rally seeking regime change in Iran in Westwood on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in Los Angeles. The rally was organized after word spread that the U.S. and Israel had bombed Iran overnight, Pacific time, killing Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, among others.
(
Genaro Molina
/
/Los Angeles Times via Getty Image
)
A group of people holding Iranian flags and a busy street intersection.
Hundreds rally waving the historical Iranian Lion and Sun and American flags in Westwood on Saturday.
(
Genaro Molina
/
Los Angeles Times
)
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Group of people marching with Iranian flags and large banner reading 'CHANGE' featuring the Iranian flag
Hundreds rally in Westwood seeking regime change in Iran.
(
Genaro Molina
/
Los Angeles Times via Getty Image
)
Group of people holding large Iranian flag and protest signs on a city street
A man walks under the colors if Iran while joining hundreds in a rally seeking regime change in Iran in Westwood on Saturday.
(
Genaro Molina
/
Los Angeles Times via Getty Image
)
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Downtown Los Angeles

A person holding a protest sign that reads, "Drop the files. Not the bombs."
A protester holds a poster reading "drop the files not the bombs" during a demonstration against the war in Iran in front of City Hall in Los Angeles on Feb. 28, 2026.
(
Etienne Laurent
/
AFP via Getty Images
)
A crowd gathered in front of a park in a protest. They hold up a sign that reads, "No War, No Iran"
A crowd gathered at Los Angeles City Hall to protest against United States and Israel bombing Iran on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026.
(
Myung J. Chun
/
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
)
A woman with a scarf wrapped around her head holds up a photo of Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
A protester holds a portrait of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a flag of Iran during a demonstration against the war in Iran in front of City Hall.
(
Etienne Laurent
/
AFP via Getty Images
)
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Protest signs that read "No New US War in the Middle East."
Protesters hold placards reading "no new US war in the Middle East" during a demonstration against the war in Iran in front of City Hall.
(
Etienne Laurent
/
AFP via Getty Images
)
A man holds a sign that says "War Pig" with a photo of President Trump with pig snout and ears.
A man holds a sign at Los Angeles City Hall to protest against United States and Israel bombing Iran.
(
Myung J. Chun
/
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
)

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