DENVER, Colo. - After a major strike on Iran by the U.S. and Israel, dozens of Coloradans took to the state capitol to protest.
Hatem Teirelbar, a protest organizer with the Denver Anti-War Action, said he was "enraged and disappointed" after news of the strikes and President Trump's announcement that major combat operations were underway.
"This is an outrage to to everyone, to the people of the United States, to the people of Iran, obviously, who are being killed horrifically, to the international order, right?" he said. "This was an unprovoked attack."
Teirelbar was one of dozens of people who protested on the Capitol steps, sharing frustration over the actions of the U.S. and Israeli governments.
"It is very clear that ... the U.S. government, not the people, wanted to attack Iran," Teirelbar said. "They will say whatever it takes to justify it, and we can't stand for that. This is going to be a difficult time, no matter how it goes. As much as we can be, we are with them."
But not every Coloradan is against to the attack. Some Republican lawmakers from Colorado expressed their support for the move on Saturday.
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Colorado lawmakers divided on U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran
Congressman Gabe Evans was one of those lawmakers who called the attack necessary. He described Iran's position as "death to America, death to Israel, death to the west, death to the infidel."
“We cannot allow that threat to grow and escalate to a point where we can't contain it anymore," he said.
Dr. Micheline Ishay, Director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Denver, says regime change requires troops on the ground.
"The United States is not going to send troops on the ground, and Israel is not going to send troops on the ground," Ishay said. "The populations might get agitated and create another wave of protest that might lead to the overthrow of the regime. That is certainly on the table."
Dr. Ishay understands some Coloradans may be worried about what the attack could mean.
"We have a great number of military people" who could find themselves in "worse stations in many military bases in the Gulf countries," she said.
Evans told Denver7 there are no ground forces being mobilized at this moment.
Trump said the heavy bombing will continue "uninterrupted" throughout the week, Scripps News reported.
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