Thousands Across US Send Message to Trump: “No Threats, No Bombs, No War With Iran”
January 10th 2020
Crowd (David Martyn Hunt)
By Jake Johnson
Thousands of people took part in more than 370 demonstrations across the United States Thursday night to condemn the Trump administration's warmongering and demand concrete action to achieve lasting peace with Iran.
"Tonight, the American people spoke with one voice. No war," tweeted activist Faiza Ali following the nationwide protests.
The "No War With Iran" demonstrations—organized by a coalition of progressive advocacy groups including Win Without War, MoveOn, and Indivisible—came as the House of Representatives passed a War Powers Resolution that would require the president to receive authorization from Congress before taking military action against Iran. The measure still must be approved by the Republican-controlled Senate.
"The president is going to get a loud and clear message from this Congress. America is not going to war with Iran," Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) said during a rally on Capitol Hill following the vote.
Trump signaled in a speech Wednesday that he is willing to pursue a diplomatic solution with Iran following its missile attacks on two U.S. military bases in Iraq, which were carried out in retaliation for the assassination of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani.
But anti-war critics were quick to note that despite his rhetorical gestures toward peace, Trump said the U.S. will continue its economic warfare against Iran, which has crippled the nation's economy and devastated ordinary Iranians.
Trump has also continued his lie-filled attacks on the Iran nuclear accord, which he violated last year—setting the stage for increased military tensions.
Ryan Costello, policy director for the National Iranian American Council, said in a statement late Thursday that to avert another catastrophic war in the Middle East, Trump "must halt his administration's lies, open diplomatic channels with Iran, and seek to return to the nuclear deal."
"Failure to do so risks a war that would devastate the region and put the American people further away from peace," said Costello.
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