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Protesters march in Boston as Healey is briefed on Iran bombings
President Donald Trump's decision to strike Iranian nuclear facilities set off another wave of demonstrations in Boston.
Hundreds of people gathered in downtown Boston on Sunday to protest President Donald Trump‘s decision to enter the war between Israel and Iran. The group followed the path of other major protests against the administration, meeting near Park Street Station and marching to City Hall Plaza after about an hour of speeches.
The protest garnered around 500 participants despite sweltering heat, organizers said. It was led by the National Iranian American Council, who called Trump’s strikes on Iran illegal.
“As an Iranian-American, I know the tragic history of U.S. intervention in the region,” organizer Ziba Cranmer said. “The Trump administration is dragging the United States into another war of choice in the Middle East, without congressional authorization and in clear violation of international law. This path leads only to more suffering, especially for civilians in the region. Congress must act now to halt this march toward war and uphold our constitutional checks and balances.”
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The demonstrations also featured speakers like former presidential nominee for the Green Party Jill Stein. Leaders from organizations including the SEIU local 509 union, Massachusetts Peace Action, and multiple pro-Palestine groups joined in. Although the focus was on the new military actions in Iran, many participants used the occasion to protest the ongoing devastation in Gaza, the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts, and more.
“Even before this bombing, the U.S. has been sponsoring Israel’s illegal escalation in the region. Israel’s attacks on Iran have only been possible by use of American weapons, technology, and military support. For 20-plus months the U.S. and Israel have worked hand in hand to commit genocide in Gaza, and to destabilize the Middle East,” said Lea Kayali of the Palestinian Youth Movement.
Despite Trump’s claims over the weekend that U.S. bombers “totally obliterated” key Iranian nuclear facilities, administration officials later said that the actual state of affairs on the ground are less clear.
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Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said Sunday that she was briefed by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about the situation.
Whether more American bombs will fall on Iran is unclear, as is the scale of the retaliation that will likely be ordered by Iranian leaders. U.S. officials said Sunday that the country “does not seek war” with Iran and is not attempting to enact regime change there.
Trump rose through American politics in part because of his vocal opposition to previous wars in the Middle East, and many of his key allies opposed U.S. intervention in the Israel-Iran war.
Speakers on Sunday repeatedly drew a line between the Iraq War and the new actions ordered by the White House.
“President Trump’s unprovoked attack on Iran is incredibly dangerous, unnecessary, and illegal. His unilateral action threatens to embroil the United States in another costly war in the Middle East, just like George W. Bush did with his attack on Iraq. His unconstitutional action endangers people across the region and American service members dangerously deployed there. Congress must stop these illegal actions immediately,” said Brian Garvey, executive director of Massachusetts Peace Action.
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