Iranians in Europe Share ‘Mixed Feelings’ on Israel Offensive 

Smoke billows from an explosion in Tehran on June 16, 2025. (AFP)
Smoke billows from an explosion in Tehran on June 16, 2025. (AFP)
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Iranians in Europe Share ‘Mixed Feelings’ on Israel Offensive 

Smoke billows from an explosion in Tehran on June 16, 2025. (AFP)
Smoke billows from an explosion in Tehran on June 16, 2025. (AFP)

As Israel and Iran trade fire in their most intense confrontation in history, members of the Iranian diaspora in Europe are torn between hopes for change and fears for their loved ones back home.

In Frankfurt, Hamid Nasiri, 45, a product developer at a pharmaceutical company, said he had "mixed feelings" about the fighting, started by Israel on Friday after weeks of tensions over Iran's nuclear program.

Like many Iranians in Europe, he sees Israel's offensive as a chance to topple the Iranian leadership under Ali Khamenei -- long accused of human-rights abuses and brutally repressing dissent.

"On the one hand, Israel's actions are specifically directed against the government, which is itself known for its brutal methods. That gives me a certain hope," Nasiri said.

"At the same time, I naturally mourn for the people of Iran. When women, children and now scientists are killed, I find that morally very disturbing," he said.

"Many are caught between hope for change and horror at what is happening right now," said an Iranian teacher based in Frankfurt who did not want to give her name.

She has not been able to reach a friend living in northern Tehran since Friday.

In London, around a dozen members of the Iranian diaspora gathered in front of the Iranian embassy on Monday.

Some were waving Israeli flags, others the flag of the Pahlavi dynasty -- the ruling house of Iran until the revolution in 1979.

Psychology student Maryam Tavakol, 35, said she supported Israel's assault.

"There is no freedom in Iran, no human rights... We support each act that makes the republic weaker," said Tavakol, who left Iran in 2019 and has been living in the UK for two years.

But Ali, 49, a restaurant worker living in London who did not want to give his last name, said he would prefer the arch rivals to "sit down and speak to each other".

"(I have) never supported the Iranian regime, I don't like the regime," said Ali, who left Iran in 1997.

"(But) who will suffer? The people... I don't support anyone who harms kids and people. I'm really upset," he said.

"We still have family and friends in Iran, Tehran," said Paria, 32, another London restaurant worker.

"They are fleeing to the north. We are really worried for them."

Israel on Friday launched a surprise aerial campaign targeting sites across Iran, saying the attacks aimed to prevent its enemy from acquiring atomic weapons.

Iran's uranium enrichment has for decades caused tension with the West and Israel, which fear the drive is aimed at making an atomic bomb, a charge denied by Tehran.

The Israeli strikes have so far killed at least 224 people, including top military commanders, nuclear scientists but also civilians, according to Iranian authorities.

Iran's retaliatory strikes on Israel have so far killed 24 people, according to Israeli authorities.

Hamidreza Javdan, a 71-year-old actor and director originally from Tehran and now living in Paris, said the Iranian diaspora was "divided" over the conflict.

"Some say 'no one has the right to attack our country', others think it's a good thing," he said.

Javdan said he was "hopeful" for a change of government, but also fears for his brother, who is disabled and unable to quickly leave Tehran.

"And there are more than 10 million people in Tehran, where are they going to go?" he said.

In Berlin, an Iranian translator who wanted to remain anonymous said she felt "torn" over Israel's attacks.

"I hope so much that this war will overthrow the mullah regime. I wish for that so much. Then all the deaths would not have been in vain," she said.



Greeks Mourn, Turks Celebrate Anniversary of Invasion that Split Cyprus

A woman walks next to the graves of soldiers killed in the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus at the Tymvos Makedonitissas military cemetery in Nicosia, Cyprus July 20, 2025. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou
A woman walks next to the graves of soldiers killed in the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus at the Tymvos Makedonitissas military cemetery in Nicosia, Cyprus July 20, 2025. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou
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Greeks Mourn, Turks Celebrate Anniversary of Invasion that Split Cyprus

A woman walks next to the graves of soldiers killed in the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus at the Tymvos Makedonitissas military cemetery in Nicosia, Cyprus July 20, 2025. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou
A woman walks next to the graves of soldiers killed in the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus at the Tymvos Makedonitissas military cemetery in Nicosia, Cyprus July 20, 2025. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou

Greek and Turkish Cypriots marked on Sunday the 51st anniversary of Türkiye’s 1974 invasion of Cyprus, an event that split the island and remains a source of tension between NATO partners Greece and Türkiye.

Air raid sirens sounded across the southern Greek Cypriot-populated parts of Cyprus at 5:30 a.m. (0230 GMT), the exact time when Turkish troops landed on the northern coast in a military intervention triggered by a brief Greece-inspired coup.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was due to attend celebrations in north Cyprus, a breakaway state recognized only by Ankara.

Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides attended a memorial service in the south to commemorate the more than 3,000 people who died in the Turkish invasion, which also drove tens of thousands of Greek Cypriots from their homes.

"Despite those who want us to forget, we will never forget, or yield an inch of land," Christodoulides said, calling celebrations in the north "shameful".

Efforts to reunify Cyprus as a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation have repeatedly failed amid deep-rooted mistrust and competing visions for the island's future.

Before the invasion, clashes between Turkish and Greek Cypriots saw Turkish Cypriots withdraw from a power-sharing government and prompted the deployment of UN peacekeepers in 1964.

Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar said the invasion had brought "peace and tranquility" to the island following the "darkest years" for Turkish Cypriots.

"Their (Greek Cypriots) goal was to destroy the Turkish Cypriots," he said in a video address posted on X.

The simmering conflict complicates Türkiye's ambitions to foster closer ties with the European Union, of which both Cyprus and Greece are members.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said last week the two sides would continue discussions on trust-building measures, warning that "there is a long road ahead".