Demonstrations took place across the UK this weekend to protest the latest illegal provocations of Donald Trump towards Iran, which brought the world closer to a global conflict than it has been in this century. Thousands came out in towns and cities around the country including Bristol, Liverpool, Newcastle, Bradford, Manchester and Chesterfield.
The message was clear across the board: no war on Iran, troops out of Iraq and no more Western aggression in the Middle East. Thank you to all who joined the demonstrations. This type of defiant, unified response from the public is exactly what is needed to counteract the silence of Boris Johnson and the government who continually refuse to stand up to Donald Trump’s unhinged warmongering.
In London, the crowd of thousands took over Trafalgar Square and were addressed by our former Chair, Jeremy Corbyn, amongst many others including Lowkey, Salma Yaqoob, Tez Ilyaz and Lindsey German.
Mr Corbyn said: ‘When big powers act illegally, when people step outside the norms of international law there are consequences. All this does is set off a spiral of violence and danger which will lead us to yet more wars in the future. We need to stand up for international law, for peace and for justice all around the world’. You can watch his speech here.
The fact is that after a week of extreme tension and hostility, the threat of war with Iran is now higher than at any point since Donald Trump withdrew from the Iran Nuclear Deal in May 2018. Despite all the talk of de-escalation from the US and British governments the underlying basis for ongoing hostilities remains in place. In time the events of the past week will come to be seen a significant flashpoint in the drive towards an all-out war with Iran. With that in mind, below are 5 reasons we must continue the No War on Iran campaign.
No War on Iran – 5 Reasons We Must Keep Campaigning
1.Iran Nuclear Deal – Donald Trump scrapped the JCPOA (Iran Nuclear Deal) in May 2018, widely recognised as a landmark piece of diplomacy. This was the starting gun for the current drive to war with Iran. Despite the many faults of the Iranian regime, including its recent accidental downing of a civilian aircraft, we must recognise that the chief aggressor in this scenario is the USA. The hawks around Trump, including his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, want to see regime change in Iran and won’t stop in their quest to instigate it.
2. Sanctions – The ‘maximum pressure’ strategy of Donald Trump’s administration is causing huge distress for the Iranian people. The price of basic goods have doubled and the Iranian economy is being paralyzed. Towards the end of 2019, Human Rights Watch released a report saying that ‘if the situation remains unchanged sanctions are threatening the lives of millions of Iranians’. Now Trump has announced more even sanctions to further ‘punish’ the regime.
3. The Conservative Government – The response of our government has been pathetic. Once Boris Johnson managed to peel himself from his sun lounger in the Caribbean he spent more time regurgitating smears against Jeremy Corbyn than addressing the situation caused by his friend Donald Trump. The Tories refusal to condemn US actions, in even the mildest form, demonstrates that all their talk of ‘de-escalation’ is merely hot air. It’s down to us to keep up the pressure.
4. Iraq & The Wider Middle East – It is almost 17 years since Bush and Blair invaded Iraq and destabilised the region to such a degree that even the worst predictions at the outset of the war have been surpassed. This current flare-up has some of its roots in that invasion and the disastrous fallout from it. The Iraqi parliament voted for all US troops to leave Iraq and that is what they should do; and not just Iraq but the whole Middle East.
5. A Global War – Any repeat of the events of the past week will once again see the world on the brink of a war which could quickly draw in major military powers including Russia, China, Israel and Saudi Arabia. With global military spending at its highest level since 1988 the consequences could be catastrophic. Only a mass campaign against war can help move the world in the direction of peace
