After senior State Department official and head of the Trump administration’s so-called “Iran Action Group” Brian Hook delivered a hawkish speech on Wednesday trashing the Iran nuclear accord and praising the White House’s deeply harmful sanctions, CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin interrupted the event and condemned Hook for “making the case for war with Iran.”
“That is the most ridiculous thing I have seen. The world community wants to keep the Iran nuclear deal,” Benjamin declared as she walked on stage at the small gathering, which was hosted by the right-wing Hudson Institute.
Responding to Hook’s remark that Iran must begin acting like a “normal” country, Benjamin said: “Let’s talk about ‘normal countries.’ Let’s talk about Saudi Arabia. Is that who our allies are?”
“Do you think the sanctions are hurting the regime or are they hurting the Iranian people? They are hurting the Iranian people,” Benjamin added. “You are making a case for war with Iran. How did the war with Iraq turn out? You’re doing exactly the same thing we did in the case of Iraq. We don’t want another war in the Middle East.”
Following remarks by @StateDept's Brian Hook, @Codepink's @medeabenjamin takes the stage in protest.
Full video here: https://t.co/BikF8tI7B1 pic.twitter.com/voHBDXX5Pm
— CSPAN (@cspan) September 19, 2018
US calls JCPOA "a personal agreement between two governments", claiming it “seeks a treaty”. Wrong. It’s an int'l accord enshrined in a UN SC res. Plus, US has violated its treaty obligations too & faces 2 suits at ICJ. Apparently, US only mocks calls for peace. #HaveYouNoShame pic.twitter.com/dao77TUnIb
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) September 20, 2018
“Are we going to allow another administration to take us into another war in the Middle East? Have we learned nothing?” Benjamin wrote on Twitter following her protest. “We need to interrupt the warhawks like Trump’s Brian Hook, head of Iran Action Group, who wants to take us to war with Iran.”
Via Common Dreams
