Iran War Protests Erupt as US–Israel Offensive Draws Opposition

SAN FRANCISCO (03-08) – As Donald Trump and Netanyahu’s unpopular and illegal war in Iran gains momentum, anti-war and human rights activists held a rally and march on March 7, calling for an end to the hostilities but for the continuation of negotiations to find a diplomatic solution in ending the conflict. One of the earliest and most horrific tragedies thus far has been the killing of nearly 200 innocent elementary school girls who died in an unprovoked missile strike on their school.

One week into this new war polls show that the American public are opposed to yet another endless war about oil and profits not unlike the recent US invasion of Venezuela.

Before the anti-war protest began, a group of Chinese Lion Dancers who were to perform later in the evening at the annual Chinese New Year’s parade, showed their opposition to the unpopular war by performing for activists which in turn attracted numerous tourists and others to see what was going on. Their performance in support for an end to the war energized the crowd before a short rally and march.

Nearby, a second group made up of mostly Iranian Americans demonstrating their support for Trump, Israel and the war, called for the return of Prince Reza Pahlavi, the former Shah’s son, to rule over a new Iran as its king. Realizing there was an anti-Iran war peace protest nearby, the group hurriedly marched to the rally and began chanting loudly “Thank you President Trump” in gratitude for attacking the Islamic regime in Iran and “Down with the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

As the two crowds began to grow, police created a line of officers between the opposing sides to deescalate any possibility of violence as the vitriol between them increased. One woman yelled that American peace protesters have no right to tell her how the US government should handle the affairs of “her country.” A woman pro-war demonstrator who walked into the anti-war crowd caused a momentary confrontation before being removed by officers, while an anti-war activist was detained and later released after he innocently violated the police line after being beckoned by a pro-Iranian war demonstrator who asked him to engage with her in dialogue.

With a backdrop of loud amplified chants in support of the war, Jasmin from the Palestinian Youth movement opened the rally by saying “this rich man’s war” will result in the deaths of young men and women sent off to die, while the sons and daughters of the “elites” will not face combat. Once again working-class families and the poor will be the ones who pay the price in blood. She further stated: “The US is spending one billion dollars of your tax money every single day.” That concern, shared by the crowd, was that money is better spent here at home for services such as universal health care, education and housing for all Americans.

Iranian American, University of Minnesota Professor Seema began her remarks as the chanting from counter protesters became louder after she called for “no war on Iran” and then related that she has seen firsthand what ICE has done to the residents in her home state. “The United States of America is in no position to free the Iranian people when the US is killing our own people,” she said, accusing the US of killing people in Iran for “US profit and for the Israeli expansion in Palestine.”

Professor Seema related she was worried about her own family in Iran who have not responded to her texts and that she does not know if they are safe. She spoke of her niece, a medical doctor, who is saving lives saying “The shameless people endorsing war on Iran are accusing people like my niece who is against the war, by calling them ‘collaborators,’” she said. Asking how the US and Israel who are bombing water plants, hospitals, schools and historical sites, are going to bring freedom to Iran, she noted “Freedom doesn’t fall from the skies with bombs. The Iranian people do not need a ‘genocider’ and a pedophile to free them.”

Regarding the counter protesters, she said that Iranians in the diaspora think that people in Iran should go and “…jeopardize their lives demonstrating while they are sitting here comfortably.”

Report and photos by Phil Pasquini

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