Trump attacks Iran, Minneapolis responds with emergency ‘Hands off!’ protest
Minneapolis – On the evening of Saturday February 28, 200 protesters answered an emergency call from the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition (MPAC) to gather at Chicago Avenue and Lake Street in Minneapolis to oppose U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran.
Overnight the news broke that the U.S. and Israel had begun carrying out coordinated strikes by land and sea which struck the Iranian cities of Tehran, Qom, Tabriz, and Khorrashahr. Dubbed “Operation Epic Fury” by the Pentagon, the attack took place in the midst of negotiation talks between the U.S. and Iran.
Saturday’s protest featured speakers from many anti-war groups in the Twin Cities, many of which are member organizations of the Minnesota Peace Action Coalition.
In their speech, Lina Jebara of the U.S. Palestinian Community told the crowd, “We should be clear with ourselves and with our peers, that the U.S. bombing Iran is not evidence that Israel controls the U.S. Trump is not being blackmailed to drag us into this war, and this is not something that could only ever happen under the Trump administration.”
Jebara pointed out, “Taking down Iran has long been an aim of this country because this country prioritizes lining the pockets of billionaire oil execs and friends rather than its own working-class people.”
Yossi Aharoni of the Minnesota Anti-War Committee and Freedom Road Socialist Organization spoke to the crowd about the bombing of an elementary school in the Iranian city of Minab, “the largest attack of which was directed against an all-girls school, murdering at least 108 young girls and injuring 80 more. This is all amidst the backdrop of two and a half years of the ongoing genocide of Gaza, four years of the U.S. proxy war against Russia, two months after the illegal kidnapping of President Maduro of Venezuela, three months of the federal occupation of Minneapolis by ICE, and barely one month since the murder of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.”
Naveen Borojerdi, an Iranian American with family in Iran, spoke as a representative of MPAC and had a message regarding his recent meeting with a staffer for Minnesota Senator Tina Smith.
Saturday’s protest was just one of dozens that were held across the United States to oppose Trump’s war with Iran. The nationwide Anti-War Action Network called on member organizations in cities ranging from New Orleans, Portland, Dayton, Tucson, Philadelphia, Colorado Springs, Dallas, New York, and many others to hold demonstrations against the war.
The next protest against U.S. attacks on Iran will be on Tuesday, March 3 at Lake Street and Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis at 5 p.m. as a part of the Anti-War Action Network’s call for action for that day.