May, 21 2021, 12:00am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Terina Hine, StWC Media: 07941 864113
Lindsey German, StWC Convenor: 07472 198 941
Chris Nineham, StWC Vice Chair: 07930 536 519
National March for Palestine to Go Ahead Despite Ceasefire
At least 150,000 expected to attend protest in London on Saturday in solidarity with Palestine despite ceasefire.
WASHINGTON
March in solidarity with Palestine to go ahead despite ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel.
At least 150,000 are expected to attend the protest organised by Stop The War Coalition, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Friends of Al-Aqsa, Palestinian Forum in Britain, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the Muslim Association of Britain.
A solidarity march for Palestine that has been called in London is set to go ahead despite calls for a ceasefire, with protestors demanding an end to the UK's complicity in Israel's actions until it ends its system of ethnic cleansing and apartheid, as outlined by Human Rights Watch's recent 212-page report.
A spokesperson for the march said: "Despite the ceasefire, Palestinians in Gaza still face a 15-year long siege that entraps them and violates all of their human rights. Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem continue to face a brutal military occupation, including restrictions on movement, home demolitions and the enforcement of military law on the civilian population. Palestinian citizens of Israel are still subject to over 65 laws that discriminate against them and render them second class citizens and, Palestinians in exile are still denied their right to return home. Israel's system of apartheid and ethnic cleansing cannot continue. We can't stop just because Israel has temporarily stopped bombing Gaza. We must campaign and protest until the Palestinian people enjoy what is their birth right: freedom, justice and equality in their historic homeland."
The demonstration will start at 13.00pm on Saturday 22nd May at Victoria Embankment and travel to Hyde Park.
Follow the demonstration on Twitter with #UK4Palestine
Stop the War was founded in September 2001 in the weeks following 9/11, when George W. Bush announced the "war on terror". Stop the War has since been dedicated to preventing and ending the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and elsewhere. Stop the War opposes the British establishment's disastrous addiction to war and its squandering of public resources on militarism. We have initiated many campaigns around these issues.
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Demanding Action From Congress, Khanna Says 'The American People Are Tired of Regime Change Wars'
"We don't want to be at war with a country of 90 million people in the Middle East," said Democratic US Rep. Ro Khanna.
Feb 28, 2026
US Rep. Ro Khanna on Saturday demanded swift action from Congress to stop the Trump administration's unauthorized military assault on Iran, saying in a video posted to social media that "the American people are tired of regime change wars that cost us billions of dollars and risk our lives."
"We don't want to be at war with a country of 90 million people in the Middle East," said Khanna (D-Calif.), calling on Congress to reconvene for a vote on Monday.
"Every member of Congress should go on record today on how they will vote on Thomas Massie and my War Powers resolution," Khanna added, referring to the Kentucky Republican who is co-leading the measure.
If passed, the resolution would require the president "to terminate the use of United States Armed Forces from hostilities against the Islamic Republic of Iran or any part of its government or military, unless explicitly authorized by a declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military force against Iran."
Watch Khanna's remarks:
Trump has launched an illegal regime change war in Iran with American lives at risk. Congress must convene on Monday to vote on @RepThomasMassie & my WPR to stop this. Every member of Congress should go on record this weekend on how they will vote. pic.twitter.com/tlRi3Vz849
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) February 28, 2026
Days prior to the US-Israeli attack on Iran, the House Democratic leadership announced it would force a vote next week on the Khanna-Massie War Powers resolution following reports that top Democrats were slowwalking the measure behind closed doors.
Senate Democrats also said they planned to vote next week on a War Powers resolution led by Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia.
In a statement on Saturday, Kaine called the US attacks on Iran "illegal" and said that "every single senator needs to go on the record about this dangerous, unnecessary, and idiotic action."
“Has President Trump learned nothing from decades of US meddling in Iran and forever wars in the Middle East? Is he too mentally incapacitated to realize that we had a diplomatic agreement with Iran that was keeping its nuclear program in check, until he ripped it up during his first term?" Kaine asked. "These strikes are a colossal mistake, and I pray they do not cost our sons and daughters in uniform and at embassies throughout the region their lives. The Senate should immediately return to session and vote on my War Powers resolution."
The chances of a War Powers resolution getting through the Republican-controlled Congress are virtually nonexistent, even though the American public overwhelmingly opposes US military action against Iran. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) both issued statements applauding Trump for the unauthorized Saturday attacks.
Cavan Kharrazian, senior policy adviser to the advocacy group Demand Progress, said that "Trump has no authority to launch another war on his own."
"The Constitution is clear. The need for a War Powers resolution is clear. Congress decides when this country goes to war, not the president," said Kharrazian. "Next week, every member of Congress will have to choose. Side with illegal, endless war, or side with the American people and reject yet another regime change war in the Middle East. Like with Iraq, the choice they make will echo loudly for years to come.”
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"The attacks on Iran by Israel and the United States are illegal, unprovoked, and unjustifiable," said Jeremy Corbyn, an independent member of the UK Parliament.
Feb 28, 2026
Elected officials, activists, and experts around the world voiced horror and outrage Saturday as US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu jointly launched an illegal war on Iran with the explicit goal of toppling the nation's government, sparking chaos throughout the Middle East.
The wave of bombings, expected to mark the beginning of a wider assault, spurred airspace closures and flight cancellations across the region as countries braced for the fallout. While European leaders offered milquetoast responses to the unlawful military attack and Canadian and Australian officials openly endorsed it, leftist politicians and others unequivocally condemned the US and Israel as the aggressors.
"The attacks on Iran by Israel and the United States are illegal, unprovoked, and unjustifiable," said Jeremy Corbyn, an independent member of the British Parliament and former leader of the UK Labour Party. "Peace and diplomacy was possible. Instead, Israel and the United States chose war."
"This is the behavior of rogue states—and they have jeopardized the safety of humankind around the world with this catastrophic act of aggression," Corbyn added. "Our government must condemn this flagrant breach of international law, and urgently pursue a foreign policy based on justice, sovereignty, and peace."
Progressive International co-founder Yanis Varoufakis, the former finance minister of Greece, echoed Corbyn's criticism of the US and Israel as "rogue states."
"Israel and the USA," he wrote on social media, "have started a war not against Iran but against the whole world. We stand with Iranians, with humanity, against the notion that Israel and the US can bomb anyone their fancy takes them to bomb."
Badr Albusaidi, the foreign minister of Oman and the mediator of recent US-Iran talks, said he was "dismayed" by news of the US-Israel attacks on Iran, which were quickly followed by reports of horrific atrocities. Albusaidi said hours before the bombs started falling on Iran that a diplomatic resolution was within reach.
"Active and serious negotiations have yet again been undermined," Albusaidi lamented on Saturday. "Neither the interests of the United States nor the cause of global peace are well served by this. And I pray for the innocents who will suffer. I urge the United States not to get sucked in further."
Leftist Colombian President Gustavo Petro said he believes "President Donald Trump has made a mistake today" and implored the "helpless United Nations" to "convene immediately" in response to the US-Israel attacks and retaliation by Iran and allied groups in the region.
Iran vowed a "crushing" response to the US-Israeli onslaught, firing drones and missiles at Israel and pledging to hit US military installations in the region.
Al Jazeera reported that "Iran has targeted United States assets across the Gulf Arab states in retaliation for a huge joint attack on Iran by the US and Israel, as the region’s worst fears of being ignited in the flames of a sustained war loom."
"The Iranian government on Saturday confirmed its attacks on several targets, according to the Fars news agency, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, where US airbases are hosted," the outlet noted.
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Oman's Foreign Minister Said US-Iran Deal Was 'Within Our Reach.' Then Trump Started Bombing
"The Omani FM decided to go public," suggested one observer, "so that the American people knew that peace was within reach when Trump instead opted for war."
Feb 28, 2026
Hours before President Donald Trump announced his decision to bomb Iran and pursue the overthrow of its government, the foreign minister of Oman appeared, in person, on one of the most prominent US television news programs to declare that a diplomatic breakthrough was possible.
"I can see that the peace deal is within our reach," Badr Albusaidi, the mediator of recent talks between the US and Iran, told "Face the Nation" host Margaret Brennan on Friday. "I'm asking to continue this process because we have already achieved quite a substantial progress in the direction of a deal. And the heart of this deal is very important, and I think we have captured that heart."
Pressed for specifics, Albusaidi said that Iran committed during the talks to renounce the possibility of amassing "nuclear material that will create a bomb"—a pledge that Trump claimed Iran refused to make as part of his justification for Saturday's strikes.
"This is something that is not in the old deal that was negotiated during President Obama's time," Albusaidi said, referring to the 2015 nuclear accord that Trump ditched during his first term in the White House. "This is something completely new. It really makes the enrichment argument less relevant, because now we are talking about zero stockpiling. And that is very, very important, because if you cannot stockpile material that is enriched, then there is no way you can actually create a bomb, whether you enrich or don't enrich. And I think this is really something that has been missed a lot by the media, and I want to clarify that from the standpoint of a mediator."
"There is no accumulation, so there would be zero accumulation, zero stockpiling, and full verification," the Omani foreign minister continued. "Full and comprehensive verification by the [International Atomic Energy Agency]."
In a social media post following the interview, Albusaidi reiterated that a deal "is now within reach" and implored all parties to "support the negotiators in closing the deal." Prior to Saturday's attacks, additional US-Iran talks were scheduled for next week.
Watch the full segment, which critics highlighted as evidence that the US-Israeli attacks on Saturday were aimed at forestalling a diplomatic resolution:
Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the US-based Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, wrote in response to Albusaidi's remarks that "the Omanis are famously cautious."
"The Omani FM going on CBS to reveal what has actually been achieved in the negotiations is quite unprecedented. And what has been achieved is significant—Trump can indeed declare victory. Listen to this segment—it goes way beyond what Obama achieved," Parsi wrote. "But everything indicates that Trump won't take yes for an answer. That he will start a war of choice very soon."
"Which is probably why the Omani FM decided to go public," Parsi added. "So that the American people knew that peace was within reach when Trump instead opted for war."
According to one survey released earlier this month, just 21% of Americans support "the United States initiating an attack on Iran under the current circumstances."
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