Iranians who are celebrating a death and dismissing the dead

In the neighborhood where I live, there is an Iranian grocery store and a bakery inside, which I usually go to. The grocery store's owner is a pro-Shah. The entire store is decorated with mini Lion and Sun flags. Last night at seven o'clock, I went to get bread and saw a long line. I forced myself to wait in line, which I usually don't, unless I am starving. Within moments, I noticed middle-aged women in the line had their phones out of their purses, showing each other photos of men with white and black turbans. I saw one of those photos from a distance; it was of Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i, the former Iranian minister of intelligence.

A tall, middle-aged woman with a large bracelet on her right hand said to the woman in front of her, "kasafat ra nabudash kardan" - they eliminated that filt. She meant Ali Khamenei. One of the women replied, "dasti shon dard nakuna -- thank you so much. "They hit him in a way we didn't expect," she added with a bit of stupification performance.

"Baba, I still can't believe it. They should have taken DNA from his filthy corpse. These filths know a thousand ways to survive," said a plump, not-so-middle-aged woman with a receding hairline.

"Bravo, for three days now we've been dancing and celebrating. We're so happy words can't describe it," said a tall woman who was standing in front of me. Everyone confirmed with cheerful faces, expressing happiness.

I asked the woman in front of me, "Excuse me, when were you last in Iran?" I asked in English, of course. I was afraid to ask in Farsi, afraid they'd jump on me. Ever since I heard about an Afghanistani restaurateur in Hamburg, Germany, who refused to install the flag of the Iranian Lion and Sun flag (or better known as the monarch's flag) in his restaurant, was stabbed to death by supporters of Reza Pahlavi, I've been very cautious since then when encountering Iranians in Orange County.

"Where are you from?" the woman asked me, before she answered my question.

"From Indonesia," I replied, of course not telling the truth to protect myself.

"Two years ago," she replied.

"I read in the news that Iranians living in Los Angeles celebrated the death of Ali Khamenei, but in the same attacks, 165 school children were killed by American and Israeli bombs. Don't you think Khamenei's death and those 165 children are connected?" I asked in order to challenge their moral standing.

With noticeable annoyance and open indignation, the woman said, "Those 165 children were children of Revolutionary Guard soldiers." Another woman interrupted her and said, "No, the school was bombed by the regime itself."

"Did you see or read that somewhere? I asked curiously.

She showed me a screenshot from a social media page that I later looked up and found was linked to Hasbara - the Israeli propaganda organization.

I left the line without bread.

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