Many thousands of people have come into the streets across the country and the world to demand a halt to the US-Israeli war against Iran, and the protests are expected to grow.
The unprovoked US attack on Iran not only violated the Constitution and international law, it was completely immoral. The US government and its Israeli proxy have openly become immoral rogue states, engaging in war and genocide and overthrowing governments as they choose.
As Pope Leo said June 22, “War does not solve problems, but rather it amplifies them and produces deep wounds in the history of people that take generations to heal. No armed victory can compensate for the pain of mothers, the fear of children, the stolen future. Let diplomacy silence the weapons. Let nations chart their future with works of peace, not with violence and bloody conflicts!”
The current escalating war, which has its roots in the ongoing US-backed genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the West Bank, is the result of a series of unprovoked US-Israeli attacks on Iran. It was never about Iran’s supposed “nuclear weapons program.” Iran’s nuclear energy program was the most-inspected such program in the world, being closely monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Even the US’s own intelligence agencies concluded Iran had no nuclear weapons program. The war is about regime change in Iran; it is an effort to put in power a government that will submit to the authority of the US and Israel. The Middle East and its oil are critically important to the US’s ability to dominate the world, and they are trying to keep control of the region by bribing or crushing any government that resists US-Israeli control.
The US also wants Iran’s oil and gas resources and its recently discovered large reserves of antimony, a rare mineral key to producing many products, including electronics.
NATO Supreme Commander General Wesley Clark revealed, soon after 9/11, that the US planned to “attack and destroy the governments in seven countries in five years—starting with Iraq, then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Iran.” What we are seeing today is the attempt to complete this plan, and the plan amounts to carrying out the “Clean Break” strategy Netanyahu and his American advisors devised in 1996, which basically called for remaking the Middle East according to Israel’s liking.
Iran’s independence may be a threat to American billionaires, but not to the American people. The war is not making us safer, it’s making us less safe. Iran will be forced to retaliate for the US attack, and if the war expands it could bring in other countries and become a world war with catastrophic consequences. What’s more, the US government’s word is no longer believed by anyone, a dangerous situation. The US and Israel pretend to engage in negotiations, then stab the other party in the back. The US and Israel are shredding international law and the UN charter and replacing it with the law of the jungle.
This war could have broad repercussions if it continues. Iran’s Parliament has voted to approve the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil flows. A final decision rests with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. If the strait is closed, this will send an economic shock wave across the world, especially for the US and Europe. Prices will skyrocket, and people will lose jobs and homes.
Fifty-seven percent of Americans want no war with Iran. We, the American people, have no reason to support this war, or Israel’s genocide in Gaza. They are immoral and illegal. The people of the Middle East and most of the world are rejecting the effort by US billionaires and their corporations to maintain their dying global empire by force. The people are saying the day of the American empire is over, and it is. We should be on the right side of history.
We can have a world at peace. The American people have a special responsibility to rein in our government, because the actions of the US are at the heart of the problem. Our country should be part of the world community, collaborating and cooperating with other countries, not trying to dominate them. This is the route to a world that cares for all, a world of peace and security.
Appealing directly to world leaders, Pope Leo echoed his predecessor, Pope Francis, who had so often declared, “War is always a defeat!” He added: “Nothing is lost with peace. Everything can be lost with war.”
Today more than ever, humanity cries out and pleads for peace. We, the people, are the only ones who can make it happen. Get out in the streets and demand an end to war against Iran. Free Palestine!
