Peace activists to stage pro-Iran rallies in 40 U.S. cities

TEHRAN, Feb. 2 (MNA) – International activists from more than 40 U.S. cities and some other countries, including Canada, India, Ireland, Bangladesh, and Norway, have announced that they will hold pro-Iran rallies on Saturday, February 4. A number of anti-war organizations based in the U.S. have issued a joint call demanding that international rallies in support of Iran be held on February 4, 2012. The rallies will be held in more than 40 cities across the United States with the aim of condemning the anti-Iran measures of the U.S. and its allies in the European Union, military threats by the Zionist regime, assassinations, and propaganda and “continual lies” spread by the Western media outlets against the Islamic Republic. Antiwar.com, a website devoted to opposing aggressive war, imperialism, and assaults on freedom associated with both, has also issued a call for a Day of Mass Action to Stop War on Iran. The petition calls for February 4, 2012 to be designated as the Day of Mass Action to Stop War on Iran. Following are excerpts of the petition: In many ways, the U.S. war on Iran has already begun. The U.S. government is shaping public opinion to accept military intervention in Iran in the name of “national security.” Fabricated stories that claim evidence of Iran pursuing nuclear weapons is being blasted through mainstream media and repeated by almost every mainstream politician. The U.S. has authorized harsh economic sanctions that could literally destroy and devastate the lives of millions of Iranian civilians. In addition to the sanctions, there have been targeted assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists and a U.S. surveillance drone was discovered in violation of Iranian sovereignty and airspace.