16th January 2012
Press release
For immediate use

Solidarity organisation calls for a halt to the slide to war

The ongoing killing of Iranian scientists has been condemned as a provocation to war by a leading solidarity organisation campaigning for peace in the Middle East. The Committee for the Defence of the Iranian People’s Rights (CODIR) last week pointed out that the assassination of 32 year old chemist, Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan, was the fifth time a scientist associated with Iran’s nuclear programme had been killed in the past two years.

CODIR claims that if such actions had taken place on US or British soil they would have been seen as tantamount to a declaration of war. CODIR has warned that there are elements within the Iranian regime which will see these actions in the same way and may foolishly and disastrously respond accordingly.

CODIR is calling for peace activists in the United States, the UK and across Europe and the Middle East in particular to put pressure upon their governments not to press for conflict with Iran but to keep the door open for dialogue. The solidarity organisation believes that the Iranian people should not be made to pay for the provocative positions taken by the Iranian government or the belligerence of the United States and its allies.

“The interests of the people of Iran are not served by war,” said CODIR Assistant General Secretary, Jamshid Ahmadi, today. “It is only the leaders of the theocratic regime in Tehran, who see war as a distraction from their serious internal problems, and the United States, which sees it as a further chance to consolidate their influence in the region, who would regard war as an option.” He continued, “The Iranian people, through their progressive intellectuals, peace activists, progressive forces and labour organisations have made it clear that they have no interest in conflict.”

While the US has been keen to distance itself from the assassinations, the Israelis, in the person of the Israeli military spokesman, Brigadier General Yoay Mordechai, have expressed the view that they are “definitely not shedding a tear.” Experts in the intelligence community suggest that the killings have all the hallmarks of an Israeli operation.

The possibility of an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear installations, making it one step removed from a direct US intervention, has long been considered a tactical option and CODIR insists that the assassination campaign and its consequences could make such an attack more likely.

“We will continue to do all we can to support the people of Iran”, said Mr Ahmadi, “and we are looking to the peace movements across the globe to do everything they can to avert a conflict. The ordinary people of Iran would certainly be the first victims of a war but many others would follow. We call for peace and respect for international law at all times.”

Contact Information:-
Postal Address:
B.M.CODIR
London
WC1N 3XX
UK

Website: www.codir.net

E-mail: codir_info@btinternet.com

Further information for Editors

CODIR is the Committee for the Defence of the Iranian People’s Rights. It has been established since 1981 and has consistently campaigned to expose human rights abuses in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

CODIR has worked closely with the trades union movement in the UK, the peace movement, all major political parties and Amnesty International to press the case for an end to torture in Iran’s prisons.

CODIR has published Iran Today, its quarterly journal, since 1981, explaining the latest developments in Iran and the most effective way that the British public opinion could demonstrate its solidarity with the people of Iran.

In recent years CODIR has worked closely with Stop the War Coalition and has been vocal against any form of foreign intervention in the internal affairs of the nation.

Amongst CODIR’s supporters are Tony Benn, Rodney Bickerstaff (former General Secretary of UNISON), Ken Cameron (former General Secretary of FBU) and Louise Richards (former Chair of the International Section of UNISON).