We publish this significant appeal from 353 Iranian activists and academics — residing in Iran — who have released a manifesto with a simple and unequivocal title: “No to war.”
It is essential to show the warmongering Iranian diaspora and its Western supporters what the real demands of those living in the country are. It is not true that Iranians living in Iran — those who would be Trump’s first targets — want war. Those inside and outside academia who have thanked Trump for wanting to “liberate” the Iranians should know that he represents no one. One cannot, from the comfort of one’s home in the West, put the lives of millions of innocent people at risk.
This manifesto condemns both political repression and the massacre of protesters, as well as foreign invasion, considering both to be contrary to the national interest.
“No to war against Iran”
War is the worst evil that politics can produce. It kills, destroys, and plunges families into mourning. It annihilates infrastructure, generates poverty, sacrifices the innocent, and fuels new violence. It reduces our ability to deal with crises and obscures any prospect of development, democracy, and justice for Iran.
Netanyahu and the hawks in Washington are explicitly aiming, through warmongering rhetoric, sanctions, and threats, to destabilize and weaken our country. The tragedies of January 2026 — like any other suffering — can in no way justify war, nor the imposition of further pain on our compatriots, nor the destruction of Iran in any form.
We, Iranians of different political affiliations, unhesitatingly oppose any aggression against our country. We are convinced that the solution — however difficult to achieve — lies within Iran itself: in constructive change, in the renewal of society, in transformation from the bottom up. This is the way forward. Not war.
That is why we call for a strong and unanimous voice to be raised against any warmongering logic. In the face of any aggression, we will stand by our country. And we invite all our fellow citizens — especially those with a voice, visibility, and credibility — to join this opposition with even greater determination.
Signed by 353 politicians, intellectuals, and civil society activists from Iran, representing a broad spectrum of political views.