PV staff
In response to Israel’s recent attacks on Iran, the Canadian Peace Congress is warning that West Asia is being pulled to the brink of a disastrous regional war and possible global war.
The Congress is also calling for a stronger peace movement and renewed efforts to oppose Israel’s continuing genocide in Palestine and war on Lebanon, as well as to block Israel and the US from further escalation.
“With no voices for peace in Canada’s Parliament, only a broadly based extra-parliamentary peace movement can force governments away from the brink of the unthinkable war. Our Congress demands that Canada reverse course and make every effort to bring diplomacy to bear on the serious situation before us. Such diplomacy must include efforts to halt Israeli aggression against its neighbours in West Asia. The first step in curbing such aggression is the immediate implementation of a complete two-way arms embargo against Israel.”
In a statement released November 15, the Congress notes that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu “has been itching for war with Iran for over 20 years, but he needs to drag US imperialism into his pet project of building “greater Israel” by falsely accusing Iran of having, or being about to deploy, nuclear weapons.”
Immediately following Israel’s attack on Iran on October 26, the US government tried to justify it as an act of “self-defence.” At the same time, the US called on Iran – the victim of Israeli aggression – to show restraint. The United States has provided similar diplomatic cover for other recent aggressions by Israel, including its bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1 and its assassination of Palestinian resistance leader Ismael Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31.
Peace Congress president Larry Wasslen says that White House efforts to justify and encourage Israeli attacks on Iran are part of nearly a century of US aggression against the Iranian people. “The CIA acted against Iran in 1953, when it overthrew the progressive democratically elected president Mohammad Mosaddegh and replaced him with the brutal Reza Shah regime. Immediately following the coup, the US government provided $68 million to consolidate the dictatorship, and over a short period of time provide a further $1.2 billion in aid.” Wasslen notes that more recently, the US has waged an economic war against Iran through sanctions.
Israel and the US are making significant preparations for a major escalation in war. This includes the deployment of six B-52 bombers, along with several F-15E fighter jets and refuelling tankers to West Asia, as well as meetings between commander of US Central Command General Michael Kurilla and Israeli Defense Forces chief Lieutenant General Herzl Halevi.
The Peace Congress warns that Israel’s direct connection with NATO through the Mediterranean Dialogue, as well as the election of Donald Trump and his hawkish cabinet, make very real the possibility of a direct US attack on Iran and the sharp escalation of war in the region.
“For his part the war monger Netanyahu is all in. In his most recent speech to the UN General Assembly on September 27, he framed the conflict with Iran and all those West Asian countries opposed to genocide with typical colonial racist rhetoric – a battle between Zionist good and Arab or Muslim evil, between Western civilization and West Asian barbarism. He describes those opposing genocide as “savage murderers” out to destroy “our common civilization” intent on dragging us all back “to a dark age of tyranny and terror.” Such racist language has been used to justify Zionist war crimes dating back to the 1948 Nakba. Most recently Netanyahu has appointed Israel Katz, a fanatical war monger, to be his new Minister of Defence. Katz has described Iran as a threat to the whole world.”
Canada has had no diplomatic relations with Iran since 2012, when they were severed by the Conservative government of Stephen Harper. Wasslen says that Canada’s unwavering support for Israel’s genocide in Palestine show that “the real reason for breaking off relations was to obediently follow orders from Washington” and cautions that there is no diplomatic and peaceful solution to be found in threats and sanctions.
“Canada desperately needs an independent foreign policy based on peace, disarmament and peaceful coexistence of nations,” he says. “We encourage all peace-loving people in Canada to get involved with the peace and anti-war movement, to help build the struggle against war, aggression and militarism.”
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