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CONCORD, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Protesters in 370 cities across the country—including Cambridge, Concord, and Fall River—hosted rallies Thursday afternoon calling for peace with Iran amid tensions between the Middle Eastern nation and the United States.
The protests were part of the No War With Iran: Day Of Action. They were organized by civic action group Move On in conjunction with partners such as Win Without Warn Education Fund, NIAC Action (Advancing Peace and the Iranian-American Community), voting campaign group Indivisible Civics, and anti-war veteran group About Face, among others.
In Concord, dozens of demonstrators protested military action against Iran. They held signs reading "Healthcare Not Warfare" and "Send Trump To Iran," while others encouraged passing cars to "honk for peace."
One of the signs dated back to 1991, and originally read "No War With Iraq." The woman holding it had doctored it to read "No War With Iran."
"Sadly, I still need it," she told WBZ NewsRadio's Karyn Regal. "War was not the answer then—and it certainly wasn't, or we wouldn't still be fighting in the Mideast—and it's certainly not the answer now."
In Cambridge, a larger crowd gathered on Cambridge Common, chanting, marching, and carrying signs with messages like "Diplomacy Not Drones, Lies, New Sanctions, etc etc etc," and "End US Empire."
"It's bullshit, get off it, this war is for profit/Violence and occupation will not lead to liberation," the crowd chanted.
According to the website for the protests, NoWarWithIran.org, the rallies were held so "the anti-war majority in this country will get visible to oppose Trump's war and say #NoWarWithIran."
"People in the United States and across the globe are tired of war—from the military families who have seen multiple generations serve in the same conflict, to the Iranian, Iraqi, and Afghan families in the United States who worry for their loved ones back home," the website read.
Thirteen Massachusetts cities hosted protests.
WBZ NewsRadio's Karyn Regal (@Karynregal) reports
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