New York city and other major cities in the United States saw chaos on Sunday as hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets to oppose US President Donald Trump’s “Operation Midnight Hammer.” The strikes targeted three Iranian nuclear sites – Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz.
Demonstrators rallied through Manhattan carrying Palestinian flags and placards reading “Hands off Iran” and “Stop the war on Iran.” Another poster read, “We won’t let you drag US into global war.”
Many protesters also criticised Israel, accusing it of provoking the conflict with Iran and condemned the ongoing Israeli military offensive in Gaza.
The protests came amid heightened security measures across New York City. The New York Police Department said it had stepped up deployment at sensitive locations. Follow Iran Israel war live updates.
“We’re tracking the situation unfolding in Iran. Out of an abundance of caution, we’re deploying additional resources to religious, cultural, and diplomatic sites across NYC and coordinating with our federal partners. We’ll continue to monitor for any potential impact to NYC,” the NYPD posted on X.
‘US did not target Iranian citizen’
The public outrage followed confirmation from the Trump administration of targeted strikes against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth during a press briefing on Sunday said, “Last night, on President Trump’s order, the US Central Command conducted a precision strike in the middle of the night against three nuclear facilities in Iran – Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz – in order to destroy or severely degrade Iran’s nuclear programme. As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs will demonstrate, it was an incredible and overwhelming success.”
Hegseth highlighted that the military action was limited to infrastructure. “But it’s worth noting that the operation did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people,” he said.
He added, “The order we received from our Commander-in-Chief was focused, it was powerful, and it was clear. We devastated the Iranian nuclear program.”
