A coalition of anti‑war, anti-Israel groups planned coordinated demonstrations under the banner “National Day of Action: Stop the War on Iran” in more than 60 U.S. cities on March 2.
The protests follow joint military strikes by the United States and Israel against Iranian targets over the weekend that killed Iran’s supreme leader and senior officials, triggering domestic and international praise and backlash.
Organizers distributed fliers listing events from Boston and New York to Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta and Anchorage, with a 7 p.m. rally scheduled outside the White House.
The action was spearheaded by the ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), founded after the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, and described on its website as“an anti-war and social justice coalition with organizing centers across the country” with the mission of “connecting the fight for social justice at home and in opposition to war” with “occupation abroad.”
In a Feb. 28 social media post, ANSWER denounced what it called an “unprovoked, illegal war on Iran,” urging supporters to take to the streets March 2 to “stop the war on Iran now.”
The coalition’s initial list of endorsing organizations included the National Iranian American Council, Democratic Socialists of America, American Muslims for Palestine, Palestinian Youth Movement, Black Alliance for Peace, CODEPINK, Center on Conscience and War and About Face, among others.
Stu Smith, an investigative analyst at the Manhattan Institute, told JNS that many groups involved share leadership, messaging and tactics across cities.
“When you attend many of these protests, you’ll often see yellow signs from either the ANSWER Coalition or the Party for Socialism and Liberation,” he said. “The distinction can be unclear because ANSWER’s national coordinator, Brian Becker, is also a co-founder of the PSL.”
“More broadly, there’s significant cross-affiliation across leadership and partner groups in this coalition, which helps drive coordination on messaging, turnout and tactics from city to city,” Smith told JNS.
He noted that researchers and the U.S. State Department have identified these groups “as tied to an influence operation linked to tech billionaire Neville Roy Singham, who is married to CODEPINK co-founder Jodie Evans.” The U.S. federal government has launched an ongoing and comprehensive investigation into Singham.
“Singham has claimed that ‘the two most deeply racist countries in the world are Israel and the United States,’” Smith told JNS. “I reject that claim, but it signals the ideological framework around this network.”
