Video: Thousands celebrate in Netherlands after strikes kill Iran’s Supreme Leader

Large crowds gathered Sunday in Amsterdam and The Hague to celebrate after U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, which killed several top officials, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was the country’s highest political and religious authority. Around 2,000 people danced and applauded on the Dam in Amsterdam, while roughly 200 celebrated near the Iranian embassy in The Hague.

In Amsterdam, many waved pre-revolutionary Iranian flags. Israeli flags and a few Dutch flags were also visible. A car from a model available in Iran before the 1979 Islamic Revolution was parked in the square. Some participants carried signs reading “No more Islam for Iran” and “Make Iran Great Again.” Others handed out sweets.

Aigin, born in Iran but raised in the Netherlands and married to a Dutch citizen, offered chocolates with pistachio filling. “You can’t be happy about someone’s death, of course, but Khamenei was a very bad person,” she told ANP, citing his role in suppressing political freedoms and enforcing strict religious laws in Iran. She hopes former crown prince Reza Pahlavi will temporarily take power to establish a democracy, adding that she and her husband would then consider moving to Iran.

Reza Pahlavi, son of Iran’s last shah, has long lived in exile in the United States and has urged protests in Iran. He told The Washington Post on Sunday that he intends to lead a transitional period for the country.

Farzad, an entrepreneur from Amstelveen who left Iran more than 30 years ago, expressed doubt about quickly establishing a democracy. “I don’t think Pahlavi should take the lead. I am for a republic. He is the son of the shah, who was also a dictator,” he told ANP. “I’ve never experienced a free Iran,” he added.

In The Hague, about 200 people gathered roughly 100 meters from the Iranian embassy. The Iranian national anthem played, and a large Iranian flag was unfurled for dancing. Many waved the old pre-revolutionary Iranian flag, as well as Dutch, Israeli, and U.S. flags. Police were present to oversee the area.