Friday, June 27, 2025

How Iranian Americans are coping

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This is America

Stories of justice and action across America

Fri Jun 27 2025

Hey folks, Phillip M. Bailey, Chief Political Correspondent, here with Savannah Kuchar, Congress and Campaigns Reporter, for another edition of your weekly This Is America newsletter.

President Donald Trump's strike against Iran has ripped open a new chapter in the two countries' longstanding tensions as Americans watch with pointed interest at the possibility of (another) war in the Middle East.

It's cracked open a divide in the MAGA movement and was disliked by either a majority or plurality Americans surveyed in multiple polls, but hasn't dented Trump's approval numbers, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.

Put all that aside for a moment.

Demonstrators march following U.S attack on Iran's nuclear sites at Times Square in New York City on June 22.

Caitlin Ochs, Reuters

There's an emotional toll among a group little heard from amid this tense international situation − Iranian Americans, who are dismayed at the possibility of increased U.S. involvement and equally fearful for their loved ones still in Iran.

Here are some of the things they told USA TODAY:

•	"We're just trying to send prayers for peace. Sometimes, I feel both helpless and hopeless. ... I don't want them to be in danger." −Shaghayegh Cyrous, a Los Angeles-based artist.
•	"It's a very depressing moment for Iranians right now." −Nahid Siamdoust, a professor of media and Middle Eastern studies at the University of Texas, Austin.
•	"Like many in the diaspora, I live in two worlds. One is here in the U.S, where I work, making a living and care for my family. The other is in my mind, always carrying the weight of anxiety for those I love and all the people in Iran who have no escape." −Reza Rajebi, an Iranian-born novelist and physician who now lives in Houston, Texas.

Pride comes to a close

Hey, Savannah here.

We started the month with y'all recognizing not only the celebration of Pride, but the hardship transgender Americans in particular are facing under a political majority who want to keep them out of everything from the military to national history.

Now, as June winds down and we're in the final week of Pride , we want to make sure you caught a recent Supreme Court decision. In the case of U.S. v. Skrmetti, the conservative-leaning court upheld Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors.

Our Supreme Court Correspondent Maureen Groppe reported:

•	In her dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the court retreated "from meaningful judicial review exactly where it matters most," and "abandons transgender children and their families to political whims."

Also: Thursday marked the 10-year anniversary of Obergefell v. Hodges, the case that made same-sex marriage legal in the U.S. It was a chance for many couples to celebrate "normalcy." And the man who was the "opposition" in that famous case spoke out about why he's never been happier to lose.

People celebrate outside the Supreme Court in Washington on June 26, 2015, after its historic decision on gay marriage.

MLADEN ANTONOV, AFP via Getty Images

Thanks for reading with us! We'll be back next week with more stories of belonging and diversity from across the country. In the meantime, find us on social @ savannahkuchar and @phillipmbailey.