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Several anti-war protests spring up around Bay Area

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Published  February 28, 2026 9:39pm PST
News
KTVU FOX 2

The Brief

    • Anti-war protests were held in San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland and San Jose on Saturday. 
    • While some demonstrators celebrated the potential for regime change, they were concerned about the US-Israel attacks on Iran and its people. 
    • Iran's Red Crescent says 201 people have already been killed after the US-Israel attack.  

OAKLAND, Calif. - Several anti-war protests sprang up around the Bay Area and across the nation Saturday, less than 24 hours after the joint US-Israel strike on Iran.

The overnight attack on Iran left hundreds dead, including the country's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The attack left many of Tehran’s 15 million residents attempting to flee the capital city.

The anti-war demonstrators marched through the heart of San Francisco Saturday afternoon. 

"Trump is saying his goal is total regime change, and I think that that’s not going to happen easily, and it’s going to be a very long and bloody conflict," Yasmine Mortazavi, an anti-war demonstrator told KTVU. "Ultimately, the Iranian people in Iran can decide their own fate."

Toddlers made signs alongside seasoned protestors who chanted in support of the people of Iran.  

Local perspective:

Across the Bay in Oakland, a small, dedicated group of protestors spoke out against the overnight attack, calling it a blatant power grab on the part of the Trump administration.

"Trump is grasping at straws right now doing everything he can to maintain his power and the us’s grim on the world overall," Oakland demonstrator Lin An told KTVU. 

An says the motivations behind the attack are clear, but not in line with what Americans want. 

"We know that the US has been interfering with sovereignty in the Middle East because they want to control the vast resources that are there, so we are here to say ‘No, we have nothing to gain from these unjust wars,’" An said. 

Dig deeper:

Demonstrators in support of regime change in Iran gathered in Berkeley, and some worried for loved ones who still live inside the embattled city of Tehran.

"When I talked to my family members in tehran they said that they are sheltering," Nasrin Saifi, with the Iranian-American Community of Northern California (IACNORCAL) told KTVU. 

Saifi says there is a growing faith that regime change is possible in Iran, but foreign bombs won’t be the answer the Iranian people need.

"It needs boots on the ground, and there is an organized resistance inside Iran," Saifi said. Saifi says supporting and empowering the people on the ground in Iran is the only way to lasting change. 

While many Iranians have a deep concern for the US and Israeli involvement in this attack, there is still hope. Saifi says her relatives back home are warily hopeful for the future. 

"They were happy, they were happy this is gonna be the end of this regime, and, finally, after 47 years, they can get to freedom," she siad. 

This is just the start of what could be a rather drawn-out conflict, and as many people KTVU spoke to worried, the conflict could cause a huge loss of life. Iran’s Red Crescent reports that more than 200 Iranians have already died in this attack. 
 

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