Hundreds gather in NYC to protest against US involvement in Iran-Israel conflict
BRYANT PARK, Manhattan (WABC) -- Hundreds gathered amid a national day of protest denouncing Israel's military campaign against Iran at Bryant Park on Wednesday night.
There are anti-war demonstrators, but also Iranian-Americans worried for their family's safety as President Trump is deciding whether or not to get involved in the conflict between Israel and Iran.
"I have friends in Israel who are terrified. I got a picture yesterday from a friend who had the building blown up. At the same time, Iranian-Americans are watching all their family and friends evacuated, are seeing car bombs go off in Tehran, are seeing hospitals blown up, media buildings blown up, gas stations. This is much much broader than of an attack than simply targeting strikes on a nuclear program," said Etan Mabourakh of the National Iranian-American Council.
"Casualties are inevitable. We have to get rid of the nuclear bombs. We have to. I'm sorry it's taking too long. War is horrible, it's a last resort, but it's needed because we haven't gotten anywhere," argued pro-Israeli demonstrator Ian Benardo.
Questions are mounting over whether Trump will step in to help a U.S. ally.
Israel has been lobbying for more support as the U.S. has a 30,000-pound bunker buster bomb capable of reaching Iran's deeply buried nuclear site. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims that allowing Iran the potential to build a nuclear weapon is also a problem for the U.S.
The decision on whether or not to get involved is widely considered one of the most consequential foreign policy decisions of Trump's second term.
But Trump says he hasn't made up his mind.
"I have ideas as to what to do but I haven't made a final, I like to make a decision one second before it's due," Trump said.
Tensions around the United States' involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict escalated this week when the president claimed he knows where its supreme leader is hiding and demanded an "unconditional surrender."
"We cannot let Iran get a nuclear weapon, I've been saying it for a long time. I mean it more now than I ever meant to," President Trump said.
But some officials - from both sides of the aisle - are pushing back.
"We don't need to escalate in Iran. That doesn't make anyone in the Middle East safer, and it certainly doesn't make the United States any safer," Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) said.
Meanwhile, the U.S. moved an aircraft carrier to the region, and a second one is on its way.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insists the U.S. is in a defensive posture should Iran attack American assets.
"At the Defense Department, our job is to stand ready and prepared with options, and that's precisely what we're doing," Hegseth said.
On Wednesday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blasted the president's demand for an unconditional surrender, warning that any U.S. military involvement will result in "irreparable damage."
* Get Eyewitness News Delivered
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News
Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply.
