Overview
- Police detained multiple people, with at least three taken into custody by early evening, according to the NYPD.
- Pro‑Khamenei participants set up a shrine beneath the Washington Square Arch with Iranian flags, candles, and photos of Khamenei and other political and racial‑justice figures.
- Counter‑protesters, including Iranian ex‑pats and Israeli supporters, gathered opposite the vigil waving U.S., Israeli, and pre‑revolution Iranian flags while chanting against Khamenei.
- Witnesses described a man crossing a barrier to grab a sign who was then beaten by pro‑Iran demonstrators before police took him into custody.
- The park standoff occurred as regional fighting expanded with retaliatory attacks and U.S. intelligence reporting possible Russian information‑sharing with Iran.