Protesters chanting “Death to America, death to Israel” gathered in New York City on Friday to honor slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, before the event descended into violence in Washington Square Park.
The chants, delivered in Farsi, rang out during a small vigil organized in Manhattan following Khamenei’s death last week in an Israeli airstrike in Tehran.
Clashes at memorial for Ali Khamenei in New York
Participants set up a makeshift memorial beneath the park’s iconic arch, placing photographs of Khamenei alongside flowers and candles. Some demonstrators held signs reading “solidarity with Iran,” while others displayed flags bearing the face of Jeffrey Epstein.
During the vigil, one speaker praised the late cleric and urged supporters to emulate him.
“We must live like the ayatollah did, with his heart for his people, and we must die like he did,” the speaker told the crowd.
Violence erupts after a poster is torn down
Tensions escalated when a counter-protester approached the memorial and attempted to tear down a portrait of Khamenei.
“Take this down!” shouted Rami Even-Esh as he ripped the poster from the display.
Video from the scene shows several of Khamenei’s supporters rushing toward him. The man was knocked to the ground and kicked by protesters before New York Police Department officers intervened.
Officers quickly separated the groups and placed Even-Esh in handcuffs as blood streamed from his nose.
“He’s a terrorist who’s killed American soldiers,” Even-Esh said afterward as police led him away. “I think it was insane that there was a vigil for him. I just took the sign down. I felt that was the right thing to do.”
“I feel like someone should show up for the Iranian people,” he added.
Police said several people were detained following the confrontation.
Rival groups clash
The vigil drew roughly two dozen supporters of Khamenei, who set up the memorial table decorated with keffiyeh scarves, candles and Iranian flags.
Across a metal police barricade, a similar number of counter-protesters gathered waving American, Israeli and pre-1979 Iranian flags.
They responded to the vigil with chants of “USA” and “death to the terrorist,” referring to Khamenei.
“We’re here to show everyone that Iranians don’t like the regime,” one demonstrator said.
An Iranian-born woman who immigrated to the United States criticized those attending the vigil, saying they misunderstood the reality of life under the Islamic Republic.
“They just don’t get the message,” she said.
“These are mad dogs. These mad dogs that cannot be released in the world,” she added, referring to the Iranian regime.
She also voiced support for international pressure against Tehran.
“We like the fact that Trump is actually helping Iranians eliminate these people. We appreciated it. It is respectful that this is happening.”
Demonstration highlights deep divisions
Organizers of the vigil described Khamenei’s death as an “assassination by U.S. government forces” in promotional flyers distributed at the event.
Israeli officials, however, said the Israeli military carried out the strike that killed Khamenei and other senior figures in Tehran. U.S. officials have denied direct involvement.
Despite the relatively small turnout, the demonstration underscored how the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran has sparked confrontations far beyond the Middle East — including on the streets of New York City.