Hundreds Gather to Protest Foreign Attacks

However, this happiness is tempered by a sharp awareness of the risks and the human cost of the transition. Even as some celebrate, they are mindful of the thousands who were killed in the weeks leading up to this event and the potential for further violence as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) struggles to maintain its grip. The joy is not necessarily a celebration of the foreign intervention itself, but a celebration of the result: the removal of a domestic oppressor. Many feel that if this is the only way the "cycle of blood" could end, then the risks of the current chaos are a price they are willing to pay for the chance at a democratic life. The laughter heard in the streets is often described as "crying and laughing at the same time," a testament to the heavy emotional burden of decades of lived tyranny.