BATON ROUGE - Several Iranian-Americans living in Baton Rouge were overwhelmed with joy, hearing the news of the United States and Israel launching an attack on Iran.

Hamed Ghassemi cried tears of joy as he celebrated the attack with his family on Saturday, February 28.

Ghassemi has been protesting in Baton Rouge for weeks, calling for the U.S. to intervene in Iran. They said they were fighting for the freedom of their friends, family and everyone else in Iran.

Ghassemi's daughter, Vida Sajedi, said she could not believe her eyes when she saw the news.

“I woke up, I watched the news, and I didn’t believe it. We may be the first nation in history that sees external military intervention as protection rather than aggression," said Sajedi.

Ghassemi left Iran decades ago. Even though the future of that nation is uncertain, he said his family there was living in fear until Saturday.

"I just had a phone call from one of my cousins this morning, and she said, 'The U.S. finally came to our rescue,'" said Ghassemi.

He said he also feels safe going back to visit his home country for the first time in years.

"I get to visit my mom’s grave after 12 years,” said Ghassemi.