As scenes of violence and political turmoil continue to play out overseas, on Saturday, dozens of San Diegans took over the busy Balboa Avenue intersection in Clairemont to protest against Iran’s government. “This is not a protest, first of all, this is a revolution,” said Peymaneh Kohdaay ari, an Iranian-American and Italian protester. Khodaayari has family in Tehran, Iran’s capital, who she hasn’t heard from in nearly a week. “I heard from my family about 5 days ago, they shut down the connection, the internet, the phone, also. They called me and told me in 1-2 minutes that this happened, this guy — this very loved person, they killed him,” said Khodaayari, who was trying to be discrete about her loved one’s identity out of fear for her family’s safety. “Unfortunately, I cannot give you more information because I don’t know anything because there is no internet, I cannot even give you his name because it’s not safe for his family,” Khodaayari added. Thousands of people in Iran have lost their lives for holding demonstrations like the one held in Clairemont. It’s all the more reason, according to Kohdaayari, people in the U.S. should come together to speak out against the political turmoil playing out overseas. As the Pentagon prepares to send additional troops and assets to the Middle East, possibly signaling potential military action against Iran, all Kohdaayari and her fellow protesters can do is hope for peaceful change. “Iran’s government, for 47 years, had Iranian people as hostages. They don’t have freedom to talk, they don’t have freedom to do anything,” said Kohdaayari. “They don’t have clean water, they don’t have clean air, dirty water, and unfortunately they are suffering and facing very deep pain,” she added. ...read more read less