Youth protest outside White House against war with Iran
World
Waving Palestinian and Iranian flags, demonstrators demanded an end to US and Israeli actions in ME
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Reuters) – Anti-war demonstrators gathered outside the White House on Wednesday to protest the latest exchange of missile strikes between Iran and Israel.
Waving Palestinian and Iranian flags, dozens of demonstrators chanted slogans and held placards demanding an end to US and Israeli military actions in the Middle East.
Tensions flared when a few counter-protesters waved Israeli flags, prompting police to form a line as pro-Israeli and anti-war groups faced off near the White House fence.
“He’s just bombing Iran without any facts,” said one demonstrator, referencing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Another protester declared, “Israel is the state with nukes. Israel is the terror of the Middle East.”
‘It’s their war, it’s not our war’
President Donald Trump kept the world guessing about whether the United States will join Israel's bombardment of Iranian nuclear sites as the Israel-Iran conflict entered its seventh day on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump declined to say if he had made any decision on whether to join Israel's campaign. "I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do," he said.
Trump in later remarks said Iranian officials wanted to come to Washington for a meeting and that "we may do that." But he added, "It's a little late" for such talks.
Americans from coast to coast spoke to Reuters and expressed unease and frustration over growing signs that the United States could be pulled deeper into the conflict between Israel and Iran.
Pat Tura, an IT worker from California expressed the hope that the war would not become an American war.
“My initial reaction was, Israel took a huge step on its own to attack Iran, which is such an unpredictable regime. And so I just think it's two unpredictable regimes fighting in the Middle East. And it's their war, it's not our war, and I hope it doesn't become our war,” he added.
Israel launched an air war on Friday (June 13) after saying it had concluded Iran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons.
Iran has conveyed to Washington that it will respond firmly to the United States if it becomes directly involved in Israel's military campaign, the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva said on Wednesday.
Ken Wainwright from Atlanta, Georgia, said: “It all needs to stop. And the reason why is because there's innocent people that are being hurt; it's on both sides.”
Iran has reported at least 224 deaths in Israeli attacks, mostly civilians, but has not updated that toll for days.
Since Friday, Iran has fired around 400 missiles at Israel, some 40 of which have pierced air defenses, killing 24 people, all of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities.
