Iranian Americans in New Jersey open up about current tensions at home and abroad

Newark, NJ - Iranians living in New Jersey, who make up a reported 0.08% of the state’s population, continue to grapple with Iran’s most recent military encounter with Israel and the U.S. This particular skirmish began on June 13, when Israel launched attacks on nuclear and military facilities in Iran. Both countries engaged in direct conflict with each other until Israel and Iran reached a ceasefire on June 24. The Human Rights Activists News Agency reported that, as of June 23, Israel's missile strikes killed a confirmed 974 people in Iran and injured 3,458 others.

Even after the ceasefire, Iranians continue to face tensions in the U.S., particularly after President Trump ordered the bombing of three nuclear sites in Iran on June 22. The Department of Homeland Security subsequently issued a warning of the heightened threat of low-level cyber attacks and violent terrorist attacks carried out by pro-Iran individuals on U.S. soil. 

Within the week after this warning, ICE reportedly arrested more than 130 Iranian nationals across the U.S., with 670 Iranians being held in ICE detention facilities, amid fears of Iranian sleeper cells activating. Hooshang Amirahmadi, PhD, a Distinguished Service Professor at Rutgers University and founder of the American Iranian Council in Princeton, discussed how Iranians in the U.S. continue to live under scrutiny amidst recent global events.

"The U.S. government obviously is always on the watch for the bad people. Iranian or non-Iranian, [it] doesn't matter," said Prof. Amirahmadi. "And of course, because Iran and the U.S. don't have [relations], obviously the Iranians are watched more often or more extensively than other groups in this country." 

Iran’s tense relationship with the U.S. stretches back decades. One key moment of the former’s contemporary history is the 1979 Iranian Revolution. This resistance against the "Westernization" of Iran led to the country’s hostage crisis, which lasted from 1979 to 1981. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks and George W. Bush naming Iran as part of the "axis of evil," perceptions of Middle Eastern people and Iranians worsened.

While Iranians in the U.S. are filled with trepidation living under the government’s heightened lens, the Iranian regime has repeatedly engaged in brutal acts of political suppression of its own people, including peaceful dissenters. This reportedly includes imprisoning women activists and human rights defenders, as well as executing political opposition members.

James Irani, an Iranian lawyer living in Bergen County, discussed the repercussions of the U.S. attack on Iran: he claims the federal government has targeted Iranian immigrants who have a criminal record, regardless of whether they have a Permanent Resident Card.

"You cannot generalize the [general] population on this with the Iranian community in New Jersey…. They're not terrorists," said Irani. "There are bad apples in every basket. Right, but to equal every Iranian and connect them to the Iranian government, that's [an] unfair practice of [the] administration of government in the United States."

Iranians In New Jersey Share Their Stories

With tensions between the U.S. and Iran, Iranians in New Jersey are reluctant to speak up about the recent conflict out of fear of persecution. One Iranian woman, who requested to remain anonymous, shared her experience living in New Jersey for nearly 40 years, as well as her thoughts on the recent Iran-Israel War. 

Having grown up in Teaneck during the Iranian hostage crisis, she discussed facing discrimination from students at her high school. She has since become a college professor and a mental health educator/practitioner who has worked with recovering drug addicts. She has also raised a son and daughter, who are now adults living with their own families in New Jersey.

However, she claims that she and her children have felt the fear and pressure press down on them as Iranians in the current political climate, which she described as "very unsafe" and "very unstable." Having taught her children the Iranian language and values, she said that they have felt “uncomfortable” knowing that their roots and family in Iran are in distress.

After the attacks by the U.S. and Israel, she claims the Iranian government has tried to tighten its grip on its people, targeting any opposition and individuals suspected of spying for the U.S. or Israeli governments.

"When you go [to Iran], you have to live in fear because you don't know how the government is gonna respond to you, and now [you'll] be getting it the same as here," she said. "It's like, where is it safe anymore?"

Love And Loss Across Borders

Iranians living in the U.S. have felt the painful effects of the Iran-Israel-U.S. War as their loved ones have gotten caught in the crossfire overseas. The Iranian woman from Teaneck discussed how "friends of friends" in Iran were killed in their apartment when the whole building collapsed due to one of the bombings. The conflict is especially worrisome as she fears for her family members living in Iran amidst an unpredictable war.

Though she spent some formative years in Iran, she claims to have never experienced this kind of conflict before, feeling she is "getting attacked by all ends," specifically by Israel, the U.S., and even the Iranian government.

As a self-described "humanitarian," she felt relieved by Iran's recent ceasefire with Israel. Although it has brought a pause to the conflict, she still fears it will not bring long-lasting peace. 

"The ceasefire was a breath of fresh air to me because it meant… people's lives on both ends. It doesn't matter if you're an Israeli or Iranian. People were dying on both sides…The problem is there's so much talk about a breakup on this peace treaty that there's so much anxiety."

While they are an ocean apart, this woman remains connected to her extended family in Iran. Even after over 20 years without direct contact, she frequently socializes with her relatives overseas, underscoring her idea of their "great collective society," which they have brought to the U.S. 

"I've made a life for myself and my family here, but I still have a culture there," she said. "I have a lot of values that I practiced today that were brought over from [Iran]. My work ethics, my professionalism, my compassion towards other human beings comes from a culture that teaches us that."

Overall, the 12-day war between Israel and Iran is only a brief chapter in a long, brutal conflict that has made life challenging for Iranians both in and outside the U.S. While these tensions have left members of New Jersey's Iranian population especially fearful, they continue to take pride in their culture and move forward in this uncertain time.