Note: The rhetoric about a possible war against Iran is eerily similar
to the rhetoric that preceded the War against Iraq. It is not beyond
this administration to create an "October surprise" to attempt to
influence the November elections. For this reason, we bring you this
appeal from Phyllis Bennis from the Institute for Policy Studies.

STOP WAR ON IRAN

As you know, the U.S. is escalating its threats -- including threats of
a nuclear strike -- against Iran. On April 28 the United Nations Security
Council received a report from the UN's nuclear watchdog agency, the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). It is likely the IAEA report
will repeat what it has said earlier: that despite some unanswered
questions, there is no evidence Iran has diverted nuclear production to
a weapons program.

But whatever the report says, the Bush administration has made clear
its demand that the Security Council take up Washington's anti-Iran
campaign and move towards UN-approved sanctions or even more
extreme measures.

Just a few years ago, massive global mobilization, and the millions of
people in the streets of cities around the world saying NO to Bush's
war, forced governments to resist U.S. pressure. That same mobilization
forced the United Nations to do what its Charter requires: standing
against "the scourge of war." The UN refused to grant the U.S.
legitimacy for its illegal invasion of Iraq. That UN resistance insured
that the whole world had to recognize the U.S. war and occupation of
Iraq was and remains illegal.

Now we must insure that the Security Council hears those voices once
again.

United for Peace and Justice, the largest and broadest anti-war coalition
in the United States, has launched a campaign aimed at the UN Security
Council, demanding that the Council stand firm against U.S. pressure.

ACTION
1. Please go to the following website and sign the letter which will be
sent automatically to all members of the UN Security Council.
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/ufpj/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=3408
2. At the web site, you will have the opportunity to edit the first line
to read: On April 28 you were called upon....
Be assured that your signature is still most timely.

TEXT OF THE LETTER TO UN SECURITY COUNCIL:
Dear Ambassador / Foreign Minister,

On April 28 you [were] called upon to consider a report from the
International Atomic Energy Agency evaluating Iran's nuclear program.
The IAEA is unequivocal that there is no evidence that Iran has
diverted nuclear materials to weapons.

And yet escalating rhetoric from Washington continues to threaten
sanctions and other "painful consequences" against Iran. According
to recent credible reports, the U.S. government is engaged in serious
planning for air strikes against Iran, including the possibility of using
nuclear weapons. In this circumstance, members of the Security Council
have a grave responsibility to prevent Washington from launching an
attack against Iran or using nuclear weapons, and to work diligently for
a diplomatic solution.

Like you, we recognize that nuclear weapons represent the most serious
threat to all our lives, our children's future, indeed to our planet. Like
you, we support the decision of the International Court of Justice that
said even threatening to use nuclear weapons is illegal. Like you, we are
appalled that the United States is considering actually using nuclear
weapons against Iran, a non-nuclear weapons state, thus undermining
the entire legal framework of disarmament and non-proliferation that so
many governments, millions of people around the world, and the United
Nations itself, have worked so hard to build and protect.

We urge members of the Council to prevail upon the United States to
rule out the option of using nuclear weapons, to commit to meeting its
own disarmament obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, and
to refrain from undertaking any military action against Iran.

More than three years ago, when the United States falsely claimed that
weapons of mass destruction in Iraq threatened international peace
and security, the Security Council recognized the lies, rejected the
pressure, and refused to approve any use of force. On that occasion
the United States and United Kingdom invaded anyway, launching an
aggressive war in direct violation of the United Nations Charter and the
Nuremberg Charter. Iraqis and others in the region continue to pay the
price for that invasion today. Now the Council must again avoid
adopting a resolution regarding Iran that gives Washington any basis
whatever for claiming that U.S. military action is somehow enforcing
UN decisions.

Diplomatic solutions are within reach and members of the Security
Council must find ways for them to be achieved. As part of that effort,
we remind you that the Council is already on record (1991, Resolution
687, Article 14) in support of "establishing in the Middle East a zone
free from weapons of mass destruction and all missiles for their delivery."
We call on you to reaffirm that commitment, and to immediately convene
a regional and international conference aimed at establishing throughout
the Middle East just such a covenant, aimed at eliminating all weapons
of mass destruction, especially nuclear weapons, from the region for all
time.

We call on you to remember:
- That any preventive military strike against Iran is illegal.
- That even threatening a nuclear strike against Iran is illegal
- That a nuclear strike would have dire consequences for Iran, the
region, and perhaps the entire world.

Stand with us against war.

Stand with us for negotiations, international law, and disarmament.