Atlanta reaction split on Iran bombing

Local reaction split after U.S. bombed Iran

Protesters took to the street in Atlanta while some in the Jewish community celebrated the strikes. Both groups say they don't want to see American bloodshed.

ATLANTA - The move by the U.S. to strike Iran evoked strong reactions from ordinary Georgians. 

What we know:

Protesters took to the busy streets of downtown Atlanta Sunday, expressing their opposition to going to war with Iran.

At the same time, leaders in the Atlanta Jewish community praised the move.

What they're saying:

There were a few dozen people holding signs, chanting and walking down major streets.

Protesters gather in downtown Atlanta on June 22, 2025 to protest the U.S. bombing Iran. 

The protesters called the war "illegal" and "unprovoked."

"The U.S. is acting unlawfully on behalf of the American people, using our tax dollars to incite violence, to terrorize this region of the world," said Jasmine Williams, one of the protest organizers.

Several protesters said they believe the U.S. will conduct a larger operation in the Middle East, and they don't want that. 

Ashland Swann, an Iranian-American, said she doesn't support Iran's regime, but she believes the bombings put innocent people at risk.

"To be honest, my family just got home a week and a half ago from Iran, so yeah, realistically, that’s something to worry about now and all these people caught up in it you know," said Swann. "When you just think about the possibility for innocent lives, truly, objectively innocent lives, to be devastated by this, it's unconscionable."

Related: Georgia lawmakers, politicians respond to U.S. bombing Iran

Dov Wilker, southeast regional director for the American Jewish Committee, said the bombings actually make the world safer by taking away Iran's nuclear capabilities.

"Really grateful for the role of the United States has played to set back and hopefully dismantle the Iranian nuclear threat," said Wilker. "Iran is the world's foremost state sponsor of terror. This is direct response to the terror that they have brought not just on the Jewish people around the world, which they have for over 45 years, but against American citizens."

The backstory:

The split reaction came as we learned more about the attack on Iran that took place Saturday. 

President Donald Trump said the bombings hit three nuclear sites spread out around Iran. 

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said more than 125 aircraft participated in the mission, including B-2 stealth bombers that dropped 30,000-poind ‘bunker buster’ bombs. 

Related: US bombs Iran latest: Iran's nuclear ambitions 'obliterated,' Hegseth says

Iran says the U.S. "decided to destroy diplomacy" and the Iranian military will decide "timing, nature and scale" of its response.

On Sunday, Hegseth said "it would be a very bad idea for Iran or its proxies to attempt to attack American forces."