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Rebel News was on the ground outside the Israeli Consulate in Montreal on Saturday as tensions flared following coordinated U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian military bases, missile sites, and facilities tied to the regime’s nuclear program. Tehran’s retaliation with missiles and drones has heightened fears of wider escalation — and stirred strong reactions within Montreal’s Iranian diaspora.

A small group gathered in support of the Islamic Republic, chanting, “Israel is terrorist, Canada is complicit!” along with “We are all children of Iran” and “We are all children of Gaza.”

MONTREAL: Pro-Hamas supporters showed up to express their support for the sadistic mullah regime in Iran.

A smaller group of anti-regime demonstrators also gathered to confront them and voice their support for President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu. pic.twitter.com/kNycQjdadr

— Alexandra Lavoie (@ThevoiceAlexa) February 28, 2026

But anti-regime Iranians who mobilized to confront them expressed a radically different view.

One participant argued that the pro-regime demonstrators “do not support the Islamic regime in Iran; they support the money they used to earn every month,” alleging they benefited from “funds they indirectly received… from the Islamic regime that steals our wealth in Iran.” He described them as “part of Khamenei’s Islamic lobbyists,” adding that “the Islamic regime in Iran no longer exists; it is finished.”

Iranian-born Quebecer Mandana Javan claimed the organizers were “the same groups” involved in “pro-Hamas demonstrations” and were “aligned with the same objective.” In her words, “the head of the snake, the financier of Islamic terrorism, is Khomeini and the Islamic Republic.”

For many opposing the regime, reports surrounding Ayatollah Ali Khamenei represented a potential turning point. “Today I feel very happy,” one protester said. “I feel that the Iranian people are going to be free after 47 years of hell under the mullahs.” He added that “all the hearts of Iranians are with President Trump and the American people.”