DALLAS — The death of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani is stirring protests and outrage in Iran and Pakistan and other corners of the Muslim world. But not at the North Texas home of Homeira Hesami.
"We are definitely welcoming this news," she said to WFAA in a Skype interview while traveling through Austin.
Born in Iran, she was jailed as a political prisoner by the time she was a teenager, successfully sought asylum in the United States, and for the last 30 years has been working as both a medical professional and an activist in her adopted country, leading a group called Iranian-American Community of North Texas. She sees the American strike on the Iranian general as another positive step toward democracy in her home country.
"We thank President Trump for being decisive against the Iranian regime. The maximum pressure is working greatly," she said to WFAA. "It's a great thing. It's great news."
But SMU professor Gregory Brew, PhD, with the SMU Center for Presidential History and an expert in U.S. foreign relations in the Middle East, isn't convinced this is such great news, at least not right away.
"I don't see Iran moving any closer to negotiations after an event such as this," he said. "But given that this is such a public moment, that this is such a profound visible blow to the Iranian leadership, I would anticipate quite a significant response. Not only due to the severity of this action but also given what Iran has done over the last several months."
National security expert and military veteran David Grantham, PhD expects a response too, either against U.S. forces in the middle east or against its allies.
"In the short term yes," said Grantham, a leading expert in national security matters and international affairs. "But anything worth doing is going to be hard in the beginning. And I think this needed to be done. But Iran for 40 years has been in an unofficial war with the US. So this is nothing new for them."
What is new now for an Iranian-American like Homeira Hesami, who is active in political efforts in the United States to help establish a free, democratic, secular, and non-nuclear Iran, is hope for another step toward an Iranian uprising.
"I think the regime will be weaker," as a result of the U.S. strike she said. "The opposition will gain momentum. People will be encouraged inside Iran."
Now the world waits to see exactly who will be encouraged and who blinks next.
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