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As Americans celebrated the Fourth of July, in Ottawa many Iranians gathered in front of the US embassy to demand freedom for Iran.

“We want the same values that our American brothers and sisters do. We want democracy for our people,” one protester said. “Iranians are fighting for their own independence and their own freedom of choice.”

Their warning to Washington was blunt: “Don’t deal with the terrorists.”

Several accused U.S. President Donald Trump of retreating from promises made to Iranians who rose against the regime.

“When people were taken to the streets and 40,000 people died, he promised. He said help is on the way,” one woman said. “That is not the help we asked for.”

Another protester rejected any possibility of a lasting agreement with Tehran.

“No. No deal. There is no deal,” she said. “Mullah is mullah. You cannot believe any kind of mullah.”

Others argued negotiations repeatedly failed because the regime “does not respect any kind of deals” and “doesn’t even respect human rights.”

Concern also turned toward Prime Minister Mark Carney’s public-safety cooperation agreement with Qatar, amid reports that Doha planned to unfreeze billions of dollars in Iranian assets.

“If Qatar unfreezes assets and sends that to the Islamic Republic, they’re only going to fund terrorism,” one protester warned.

Others condemned any attempt to reopen diplomatic relations with Tehran.

“We don’t want an Iranian embassy. This is Islamic Republic embassy,” one man said.

Another delivered a direct political warning to Carney: “If Mark Carney wants to open an embassy in Canada, me and all other Iranians, we will not vote for liberals the next time.”

For many protesters, the fear was personal. Some refused interviews, saying they still had family in Iran and feared alleged IRGC-linked figures living in Canada.