Iranian-American Diaspora in Los Angeles Splits Between Pride and Protest at World Cup
The Hill—The largest Iranian community outside Iran — concentrated in Los Angeles's 'Tehrangeles' — found itself publicly divided as Iran played its World Cup opener on US soil. Some fans cheered for the national team as a source of cultural pride untethered from the Islamic Republic; others wore the colors of the opposition movement and turned their backs or booed. The clash encapsulates a generational and political fault line within the diaspora that has deepened since the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests.