Peace Action Wellington condemns the illegal war launched by the US and Israel. There is no justification for so-called “pre-emptive” war. This is an aggressive war: there was no threat to the US or Israel. There is no material difference between this and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The crimes of the Iranian government against its own people are enormous, including the slaughter of thousands of its young people, but that provides no basis for war. Moreover, this is not even the justification the US and Israel have given for their war and will simply result in the killing of more ordinary Iranian people.
That the US and Israel started the war when discussions and negotiations were ongoing shows there is no good faith on their part – just a determination to install a regime that is friendly to their interests.
It is imperative that the New Zealand government is clear that it does not support this war. No NZDF or intelligence assistance should be given to the US or Israel. It is likely that the NZ Navy frigate Te Kaha is in the region, along with troops deployed to missions around the Middle East. All of these forces should be withdrawn, along with all GCSB intelligence analysts based with US forces.
Already hundreds of people have been murdered from US bombs inside Iran including a school full of children. Regime change by the US will cause untold suffering to the Iranian people and has every likelihood of escalating to a world war, pulling in the Russians and Chinese on the side of the Iranian government.
Peace Action Wellington strongly supports the right of the people inside Iran to free themselves from their own government. We do not support foreign interference in the politics of Iran or any state. The US and UK have a long history of intervention in Iran – and this war must be viewed within the context of that existing history.
