On Saturday morning, Israel and the United States began a large-scale bombing campaign against Iran. Within days the region has been pulled into a widening war. Airstrikes have hit targets across Iran and Lebanon, while Iran has responded with missiles and drones across the region. Thousands have already been killed.
CPT condemns the unprovoked United States and Israeli war on Iran and the devastating human cost that will follow. As always, civilians are paying the price.
Our teams in Iraqi Kurdistan and Palestine are feeling the consequences. CPT Palestine reminds us that bombs do not distinguish between Israelis and Palestinians. In Iraqi Kurdistan, the team has been reporting on the Iranian retaliation, which has struck Kurdish opposition party headquarters and Iranian-Kurdish camps. Once again, Kurdish communities find themselves caught in the manoeuvring of the world powers.
Meanwhile, violence is spreading across the region. Beirut is under bombardment, and Israel has told half a million civilians to leave their homes or risk death. Across West Asia people are negotiating their survival day by day.
The so-called justification for this war continues to shift. At first they talked about “regime change.” Then they recited tired arguments about nuclear programs. Now the focus is on ballistic missiles. Whatever the explanation, almost everyone agrees that this war is against international law, but after two years of genocide in Gaza, that doesn’t seem to count for much anymore.
This week I find it difficult to write this bulletin. On Saturday morning I sent messages to family in Tehran. They were fine but they were hiding in the basement. Since then, no messages have gotten through. The country is under blackout. Iranian friends are in despair and the community is totally divided: a vocal group of Iranian exiles, having made “liberators” of Israel and the USA, is cheering on the bombs.
A few years ago, during Iran’s Zan, Zendegi, Azadi –“Woman, Life, Freedom” – uprisings, an anonymous group wrote a song paying tribute to the struggles of Kurdish, Baluchi, Arab, Azeri, and Afghan women inside the country. The song offers an answer to those who believe liberation can be delivered by a missile or the return of a king:
If we want the name of our saviour, we must ask it of our mirror.
