‘It’s a rescue mission’: Sudbury’s Iranian community reacts to conflict

Two Sudbury residents with family in Iran see recent U.S. and Israeli strikes not as war, but as 'a rescue mission' against a regime that killed thousands.

While the international community remains divided on the legality of the joint U.S. and Israeli intervention, two Sudbury residents with family in Iran are sharing why they view the current conflict not as an act of war, but as a long-awaited lifeline.

Amir Hossein Zolafaghari moved to Sudbury in 2020 to build a future at Laurentian University.

“The beauty of Canada, the mindset of it and its values, made me for a long time that I want to immigrate here,” he said.

Zolafaghari became a Canadian citizen and now considers Sudbury home – even though all of his family is back in Iran.

“I’m proud that now I introduce myself as Canadian, it is now my only identity and my only identity to the end of my life,” he said.

When the military campaign – dubbed ‘Operation Roaring Lion’ by Israeli forces – began over the weekend, the lines to his family went dead almost instantly.

“The moment that it started, that theocratic regime shut down all kind of communication, including landlines, phones, internet and everything,” Zolafaghari told CTV News.

“So, there is no way to contact the family and see what’s going on.”

Zolafaghari said his brother lives in a high-risk neighborhood in Tehran near a political center, while his parents and sister are in a relatively safer district. Despite the communication blackout, he said his anxiety has actually eased since the strikes began.

‘A rescue mission’

“Many are translating or considering it as a war that Trump or Netanyahu has started, which is a false narrative,” Zolafaghari said.

“We do not believe in that. No, it was a rescue mission. It’s not a war. It’s a rescue mission.”

This perspective is echoed by Mohammad Abdollahzadeh, a business owner who moved to Sudbury seven years ago. Like many in the diaspora, Abdollahzadeh has watched with horror as the regime suppressed massive nationwide protests earlier this year.

Reports from human rights organizations and hospital records have suggested staggering death tolls from the January crackdowns – with some estimates reaching as high as 50,000 people killed.

“When that Islamic regime killed my people in the street... the numbers are crazy,” Abdollahzadeh said.

“They were just asking for freedom, and their rights to choose their government.”

Receiving a message of hope

Abdollahzadeh spoke with his family just two days ago and told CTV News that their message was not one of fear, but of hope.

“The only thing that they say is, ‘Don’t worry, we are good. We will win,’” he said.

“With this kind of government, the only solution is exactly what the United States and Israel are doing.”

Abdollahzadeh said he hopes the conflict will finally lead to permanent peace.

“I hope to see all the all the part of this regime, this corrupted and extremist regime fall apart and, after that, my people take the power,” he said.

“We bring our leader back inside the country and finally take our country back and have freedom.”

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