(Photo: David M. Grossman)

Washington, D.C. — November 2, 2018 — Ahead of the Trump administration’s reimposition of oil, banking, and shipping sanctions against Iran scheduled for November 5th, Paul Kawika Martin, Senior Director for Policy and Political Affairs at Peace Action, released the following statement:

“The reimposition of these sanctions should be seen for what it is: the latest step in a calculated campaign by this White House to provoke war with Iran. From putting Iran ‘on notice’ at the start of 2017, to violating and withdrawing from the successful, multilateral Iran nuclear agreement despite Iran’s verifiable compliance and strong objections from our allies, to these latest actions to strangle Iran’s economy, this administration is beating a path to war. As tragic and devastating as the Iraq War was, war with Iran would be far more catastrophic to the region and to global stability.

“For the administration to feign concern for the Iranian people while imposing sanctions that will devastate the financial wellbeing of the Iranian people is outrageous. As for his supposed motivation of bringing Iran back to the negotiating table, if President Trump really wanted to negotiate with Iran, he wouldn’t have brought long-time advocates of regime change in Iran like John Bolton and Mike Pompeo into his inner circle. He wouldn’t have threatened Iran in all caps on Twitter with ‘consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before.’ In case the cheerleaders for regime change don’t remember, we already helped orchestrate regime change in Iran in 1953, and the consequences of that decision haunt us to this day.

“The Trump administration should not give Saudi Arabia a pass on war crimes in Yemen and the murder of a reporter to allow Saudi oil to flow, while restricting oil needed by our allies from Iran when Tehran upheld its obligations under the successful Iran agreement.

“On Election Day, many Americans will be choosing between supporters of Trump’s regime-change tactics in Congress and their challengers. That’s why Peace Action is working for dozens of candidates who understand that diplomacy and the Iran agreement make Americans safer. We need a Congress that puts America’s interests in diplomacy and nonproliferation over the interests of political operatives like Bolton who are still enamoured with the obscene pursuit of forcibly overthrowing governments we don’t happen to agree with on everything.”

###

In 2006, Paul Kawika Martin received a rare visa to conduct a fact-finding mission in Iran.

Founded in 1957, Peace Action (formerly SANE/Freeze), the United States’ largest 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.

Start typing and press Enter to search