Conflicting rallies erupted around campus over the weekend, as hundreds reacted to the United States and Israel’s joint military operation in Iran — with a Saturday protest demanding an end to the conflict, and a Sunday demonstration applauding the two countries’ involvement.

Over 500 protesters gathered in Union Square on Saturday, waving Iranian flags, and holding yellow placards that read “NO NEW US WAR IN THE MIDDLE EAST” while chanting  “Hands off Iran now.” Speakers denounced the Trump administration’s over $5 billion reportedly spent during the first few days of the attacks, as well as an airstrike that hit a girls’ school and killed 175 people. Less than 24 hours later, hundreds of opposing demonstrators walked down Fifth Avenue to Washington Square Park in support of the U.S.-Israeli operation, which began Feb. 28 and is ongoing — with a death toll exceeding 1,300.

“They’ve done what they did in Palestine — now they’re in Iran, trying to ‘liberate’ the people or women of Iran,” Tandon student Mohamed Hassan, who attended the Saturday rally, told WSN. “We’re interfering for the government’s personal benefits, whether it’s oil or taking control of the Middle Eastern region.”

At the Saturday demonstration — organized by groups including the National Iranian-American Council and ANSWER Coalition, an anti-U.S. intervention organization — speakers encouraged demonstrators to “stand up to the fascist mafia in Washington,” referring to President Donald Trump’s comment that he would initiate a similar operation in Cuba. The crowd met at 2 p.m. before marching up Sixth Avenue half an hour later before dispersing at Herald Square.

At Sunday’s “March for Liberation,” organized by anti-Islamic Republic group Lion Sun NY, protesters chanted “Trump Habibi, thank you” while waiving Iranian, American and Israeli flags. Starting at Madison Square Park, the demonstrators covered their shoulders with Iran’s former Lion and Sun flag, which was used during the Pahlavi dynasty and was adopted by protesters who advocate for a free Iran from the current regime and Reza Pahlavi’s leadership. 

The crowd held signs and wore clothing praising the Trump administration, including attire that read “Thank you President Trump” and “Persians for Trump.” Eileen Azimi, a 25-year-old Iranian American attendee, said that she did not hear from her family or friends because of a digital blackout on the day the attacks started, blaming the regime’s actions.

Fanny Zadok, a demonstrator from Israel, told WSN that she was supporting the Trump administration’s involvement in Iran because the “Iranian government is against their own people.” 

“The IDF always protects the innocent. They make sure there’s no civilians in whoever they need to target,” Zadok said. “We believe in peace. We don’t believe in killing.”

The ongoing U.S.-Israeli strikes, which began after Trump said negotiations on Iran’s nuclear proliferation did not meet his expectations, were followed by retaliatory strikes that targeted several U.S. bases in the Middle East. Trump said that the U.S. military could continue launching airstrikes on Iran for “four-to-five weeks.”

On Tuesday, a group of 20 students and faculty members rallied in Washington Square Park to denounce U.S.-Israeli airstrikes and call for NYU to cut ties with Israel. Last month, students joined a citywide vigil at the New York Public Library to honor the lives lost at the height of Iran’s crackdown on protests in January. 

On Friday night, the New York City Police Department arrested several attendees at a vigil for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, former Supreme Leader of Iran, after it turned violent. The decadeslong leader was assassinated in part of a series of Israeli missile strikes around Tehran, with his son Mojtaba announced as the successor on Sunday. 

Contact Selin Kemiktarak, Iris Miller and Logan O’Connor at [email protected].