Iranian-Canadians hopeful following assassination of supreme leader

Members of Winnipeg's Iranian community hope freedom is now possible following the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in U.S. and Israeli airstrikes.

Iranian-Canadian Farimehr Hakemzadeh thinks of one word when she reflects on the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran that led to the death Saturday of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“Hope,” she says. “The people of Iran have been fighting this fight for a long time. For over half a century they have been living in fear, enduring imprisonment, enduring torture, enduring execution.”

Hakemzadeh, a human rights advocate, left Iran in 2014 in search of more freedom. She’s lived in Winnipeg for nearly 10 years but still has some family and friends back home.

“Today people are celebrating and dancing in the Iran because they know peace was not possible with the Islamic regime being in power,” Hakemzadeh said.

Fellow Iranian-Canadian, Allan Wise who also lives in Winnipeg, says this weekend’s killing was the right choice.

“I do not use this or take this lightly, it is a level equivalent of comparison to taking out Hitler,” Wise said.

In the days since the assassination, there’s been fallout across the Middle East.

“The United States and Israel attacked Iran in the absence of an armed attack by Iran on those countries. There is no legal basis under the UN Charter for that attack that was launched by Israel and the United States,” said Nathan Derejkom, an assistant professor of law at the University of Manitoba.