Striking Iran Now Could Spark a Major War

 In Iran, Trump Administration

Washington, D.C. — June 20, 2019 — In response to reports that the Trump administration is considering strikes on Iran in response to the downing of a U.S. surveillance drone, Jon Rainwater, Executive Director of Peace Action, released the following statement:

“The United States has stumbled into a perilous situation. If, for example, the U.S. retaliated by striking Iranian sites related to the downing of the drone how would Iran respond? Congress needs to grill the administration about how retaliatory strikes could spiral into lethal war. As importantly, Congress needs to bar the door to war and make clear that there is no authorization for any military strikes against Iran.

“Congress needs to use every power they have—constitutional war powers, cutting off funding, and fostering public outcry. Donald Trump and John Bolton can’t be trusted in such a dangerous situation and they may need to be pushed kicking and screaming towards de-escalation. We need to return to diplomacy to de-escalate the situation and address the substantive issues behind this conflict. Many of us predicted that walking away from the Iran deal would lead us to the brink of war. The window for averting war is closing but it’s not too late to step back and pursue a more sober path.

“The sky-high tensions between Iran and the U.S. is the type of situation that the United Nations was created for. It may be unfashionable in this era of go-it-alone unilateralism to suggest convening the UN Security Council to pump the breaks on this crisis, but that’s exactly what we need right now.”

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Founded in 1957, Peace Action (formerly SANE/Freeze), the United States’ largest grassroots peace and disarmament organization, with over 100,000 paid members and nearly 100 chapters in 36 states, works to abolish nuclear weapons, promote government spending priorities that support human needs, encourage real security through international cooperation and human rights and support nonmilitary solutions to international conflicts. The public may learn more and take action at www.PeaceAction.org.

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  • lara keller
    Reply

    There was a similar organization to “Peace Action” in Tehran that criticized the Iranian regime’s aggressive actions in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Iran …. called “Unicorns for Peace” but had to be closed down when its members decided to commit mass suicide by hanging themselves from a crane. They were so deeply ashamed of being spies and agents of Western imperialism that they could not live with themselves. [hint: Dark Satire]

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