War is never the answer.
NIAC president Jamal Abdi released the following statement following reports of Israeli strikes against military facilities inside Iran:
“We are deeply concerned by the gathering clouds of war in the Middle East, and what these escalating tensions mean for innocent people in the region and Iranians already struggling under a brutal and oppressive government in Tehran and crippling sanctions from Washington. This latest act of sabotage conducted via a military attack inside Iran is a dangerous escalation and should be cause for concern for everyone who opposes war.
With current American and regional diplomatic measures with Iran on pause if not at a dead end, a drift towards violent military alternatives looms large. The Islamic Republic’s brutal crackdown against the Iranian people, its assistance in Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, and its rapidly expanding nuclear program freed from the restraints of the JCPOA have pushed tensions to a boiling point. This, coupled with the rise of a hardline administration in Israel that appears determined to push the envelope militarily, an increasingly assertive Saudi royal family, and a U.S. that has been unable to turn the page on the Trump administration’s destabilizing Middle East policies, makes for an exceedingly volatile cocktail. We urge all sides to step back from the abyss and invest in a reinvigoration of diplomatic means to address mounting challenges and reduce tensions and threats.
War will only further empower the most violent and repressive forces inside Iran at the expense of ordinary Iranians demanding freedom, and will embolden reactionary elements in Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the U.S. For those of us who favor democracy, human rights, and peace, it is vital that we call for all sides to exercise restraint and to prioritize non-military solutions to the tensions threatening the region.”
