Iranian Americans are demanding peace, not war

The Hill

3 days ago

Iranian Americans are still reeling from Israel's attack on Iran in June. For 12 days, we were frantically trying to reach our loved ones across Iran hoping that Israeli attacks would not kill our families as they fled cities, spurred on by cryptic social media threats from President Trump.
Ultimately, more than a thousand Iranians were killed, most of them civilians, and it is likely that Israeli and American bombs will soon fall again if there is no diplomatic settlement.
As the fog of war clears, an important truth has once again been exposed, which powerful voices in Washington and Tel Aviv have spent years and enormous resources distorting: Iranian Americans firmly believe that diplomacy – not war and sanctions that destroy innocent lives – is the most effective path for the U.S. to deal with Iran's government, whether on nuclear policy, regional stability, or its human rights abuses.
For years now, an echo chamber on social media has sought to portray Iranian Americans as united in begging Trump and Netanyahu to bomb Iran and 'Make Iran Great Again.' On Persian-language satellite networks like Iran International — created and long funded by individuals closely tied to the Saudi royal family – viewers are led to believe that most Iranians view Netanyahu as a 'liberator' and welcome U.S. bombs and sanctions on Iran as tools of freedom.
Meanwhile, voices opposed to war and sanctions have been viciously silenced. Our organization, NIAC, along with countless independent researchers, grassroots advocates, and prominent experts, has long been demonized, including by an oped author in this very publication, falsely smeared as part of a vast pro-Tehran conspiracy because of our anti-war, pro-diplomacy stance.
In reality, our organization and those opposed to war and supportive of diplomacy put the interests of ordinary Americans first, guided by the belief that more war is not good for American security and prosperity — or for the people and future of Iran.
Reports from Middle East Eye and Politico Magazine have detailed some of the scale of the campaign against pro-peace Iranian Americans – from doctored videos and anonymous bomb threats, to rape and death threats that have driven many out of the public debate.
Until May 2019, the U.S. State Department was even funding an operation, the Iran Disinformation Project, until it was exposed defaming Iranian American journalists, human rights experts, and NIAC as ''mouthpieces' and supporters of the Iranian government.'
The New York Times recently reported that Israel had used social media posts and AI-generated videos during the war on Iran to attempt to incite unrest there, raising urgent questions about the extent of these tactics' deployment in what Netanyahu has called the 'second battlefield' of information and public discourse. Politico also reported that a $2 million Israeli government-linked disinformation campaign targeted 128 U.S. lawmakers through hundreds of fake social media profiles, demonstrating that Americans are also on the target list.
The intent behind a campaign to portray Iranian Americans as supportive of military invasion — and to silence those who disagree — echoes the same strategy used to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Once again, violence is being repackaged as popularly supported liberation and humanitarianism.
But when the war long pushed by hawks finally came, many of the Islamic Republic's staunchest critics inside Iran stood against the foreign bombs falling on their communities. Outside Iran, pro-war figures and outlets like Iran International watched their own bases turn against them. Those who opposed this violence weren't regime sympathizers — they were, and are, the majority of ordinary Iranians and Iranian Americans.
That's why, before this illegal war began, our organization launched an independent, comprehensive poll to determine where Iranian Americans actually stand on war, sanctions, and diplomacy. We were driven by concern that outside political interests were distorting our community's views to sell yet another U.S.-backed regime change war.
Contrary to what the propaganda machine was churning out, the views of Iranian Americans are clear. Most of us are anti-war, anti-broad sanctions, and pro-diplomacy. In the poll, conducted by YouGov in May and June, we found that:
53 percent of Iranian Americans oppose military action against Iran, versus just 36 percent in support.
62 percent support a new U.S. nuclear agreement with Iran.
49 percent say diplomacy is the most effective way to prevent a nuclear Iran — compared to just 22 percent who favor war.
Only 21 percentsupport broad-based economic sanctions.
60 percent oppose Israel's military actions in Gaza.
This is not a community calling for more bombs or the fantasy of cruel sanctions and 'liberating' Iran through airstrikes or invasion. It is a community calling for smarter, more humane policies that advance peace and protect people.
In a time when truth is under siege and lives hang in the balance, this campaign of smears, disinformation, and intimidation are not just attacks on one community or organization. They are an attack on the idea that people should have a say in matters of war and peace in our democracy. The goal isn't just to manufacture consent for war, but to manufacture fear and surrender to the idea that war is inevitable. We reject that premise wholeheartedly and remain committed to advancing peace – which is supported not just by most Iranian Americans, but by most Americans as well.