Opposing groups protest in Montreal as war in Iran enters third week

Supporters and opponents of the war in Iran took to the streets in Montreal on Saturday as the conflict continues to spread to neighbouring Gulf countries.

Standing across the street from the Israeli consulate, a group of pro-Palestinian and anti-war protesters and their supporters gathered to denounce the recent U.S.-Israel operation.

“This is coming at the culmination of two years of genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza and we’ve seen it happening with complete impunity, with the complicity of the U.S., with Canada. And right now, we’re seeing a war of aggression has expanded to the entire region,” said Sarah Shamy, an organizer with Palestinian Youth Movement Montreal.

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“The U.S and Israel — their interest in waging this war of aggression to assert their dominance. Obviously, we’re here with more of a heavier heart and we believe it’s more critical than ever to stand in solidarity with all oppressed people in the region.”

The protesters gathered to commemorate Al-Quds Day. The annual demonstration began in Iran during the 1979 Islamic Revolution and is held in cities around the world.

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The rally is broadly billed as an event for solidarity with Palestinians and an end to Israeli occupation of their territories.

Among the group opposed to the war were Iranian-Canadians like Mona Ghassemi. She told CTV News she showed up to the Montreal protest to show solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza and to condemn war in Iran, which entered its third week on Saturday.

“[Donald] Trump and [Benjamin] Netanyahu, they don’t want to free the Iranian people. That has never been the case in interventions in the past. When I was a teenager, they invaded Afghanistan, they invaded Iraq. The outcome was not freeing the people. Even though Iraq has Saddam Hussein — most Iranians hate him, too. He was also a repressive dictator. But even then, we don’t support the invasion of our countries because it’s about making Iran to be subservient to their own interests. And Trump wanted a leader to come that he would choose, even,” said Ghassemi, the president of the Iranian Canadian Congress.

“It’s unfortunate that some people are pro-war. That’s what we’re standing here against today.”

Supporters of the war speak out

On the other side of the street, protesters shouted their support for the war in Iran and hoisted photos of Trump and Netanyahu.

“Bibi, thank you!” members of the opposing side chanted as they waved Iranian flags and held signs that said, “IRGC is a cancer. Iran needs treatment.”

Several of them wore red hats bearing the Trump-inspired political slogan MIGA (Make Iran Great Again).

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“We are here to say that the Islamic Republic … is the reason we still have terror and death in the Middle East and all around the world,” said Ayrik Armani, an Iranian-Canadian.

“We are here to say that the Islamic Republic has never truly supported Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, or even Yemen. And we are here to say if the Islamic Republic is not there, if we finish the Ayatollah’s regime, there will be peace. There is a higher probability of peace in Palestine, Lebanon, Gaza, Syria, and Iraq, and all the countries in the Middle East because they are the main group of terrorists and proxies who are there and who brought bloodshed to the Middle East all these years.”

Maryam Dayani, an Iranian-Canadian, supported the U.S-Israeli attack on the Iranian regime, which she said is responsible for the killing of tens of thousands of civilians, most of them under 25 years old.

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“We are fighting for democracy. We are fighting for secularism,” Dayani said, wearing a MIGA hat. “Trump and Netanyahu, they are backing us to help us to make Iran great again.”

The pro-Palestinian group also led a march down Sainte-Catherine Street. Several Montreal police officers were on hand to monitor the protest, which they said ended peacefully at around 4:30 p.m.

The U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28. More than 2,000 Marines and an amphibious assault ship are being sent to the Middle East, according to a U.S. official, adding to the military’s largest buildup of warships and aircraft in the region in decades, The Associated Press report.

Meanwhile, Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes have killed nearly 800 people and displaced 850,000 others, as Israel launched waves of strikes against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.

With files from CTV News’ Laurence Brisson Dubreuil, The Canadian Press and The Associated Press