Iranians in Canada watch and worry after U.S. strikes on nuclear sites

By Canadian Press on June 22, 2025.

MONTREAL — Iranian-Canadians say they fear an escalation of violence in the Middle East after the United States carried out strikes against three Iranian nuclear sites.

Nimâ Machouf, a member of a Montreal Iranian women’s association, says family members in Iran are living “from one bomb to another.”

The epidemiologist and former NDP candidate worries the strikes will only lead to more violence and hurt the people who are fighting to free themselves from Iran’s repressive regime.

Kaveh Shahrooz, a lawyer and a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, says many Iranians are worried about the impact the U.S. decision to join Israel’s war on Iran could have on citizens.

But he says some opponents of the regime are celebrating the U.S. strike, happy to see Iran’s nuclear program “effectively dismantled.”

The interim president of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs called eliminating Iran’s nuclear program an “essential step” toward a safer Middle East, and urged the Canadian government to stand strong against Iran.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 22, 2025.

The Canadian Press