The situation with Iran continues to deteriorate with tensions mounting across the region. Last weekend IAEA chief Muhamed El Baradei announced that there is “no evidence of a nuclear weapons programme” in Iran. Another senior UN official, Olli Heinonen, stated that “Iran is cooperating well.” El Baradei also called for President Bush to quite ratcheting up tensions in the region.

Meanwhile, the Bush regime continues to raise the stakes by spewing out ever more bellicose rhetoric that demonises Iran and its leadership. Here in Britain, Gordon Brown continues Tony Blair’s blind allegiance to the White House and refuses to rule out an attack on Iran. Just today, the national press reported that UK battleships will sail to the Persian Gulf early next year. Does this sound familiar? It is nearly identical to the build up to the invasion of Iraq.

The Oxford Stop the War Coalition is pleased to announce that Somaya Zadeh from Campaign Iran will speak at our regular monthly meeting, which is this coming Thursday, November 8th. Ms Zadeh, an Iranian exile, will share with us some of her observations about the situation and correct some of the many mistruths circulated in the media about Iran and Iranian society. These lies have been propagated by the US administration and our own government. Aided by the media, they support the Bush/Brown warmongering agenda.

We will use Thursday’s meeting to begin to build the Stop the War Coalition’s national day of action – “Don’t Attack Iran!” – called for Saturday, November 24th. On that day, we will join with other groups across the country to drive home to Gordon Brown and his cabinet of warmongers that we will not stand for another unprovoked attack on a foreign nation. We will demand that he disengage from Washington’s imperialist agenda.