Dear President Obama and Members of Congress:

After the September 11, 2001 terrorist strikes against the United States, thousands of Iranian people held a candlelight vigil in Tehran in sympathy for the American people. After Iran’s June 12, 2009, presidential elections, Americans returned that demonstration of goodwill with acts of solidarity with the Iranian people, supporting their peaceful quest for freedom, justice and democracy. The mutual bonds of peace and friendship between the American and Iranian people were described in President Obama’s Nowruz message to the Iranian people on March 19, 2009, which quoted the poet Saadi:

“The children of Adam are limbs to each other, 
having been created of one essence.”

In this spirit, we, the undersigned, affirm our solidarity with the Iranian people at this crucial historic moment, and we urge you and our international allies to resist provocations to attack Iran. The present oppressive government of Iran and its ruling theocrats have much to gain from the U.S. or Israel bombing Iran, including the consolidation of their power, further excuses for persecuting Iranian dissidents, and greater outrage against the U.S. throughout the Muslim world.

We are alarmed, especially, by the potential grave political, environmental, and human rights-related consequences of plans to bomb sites in Iran where nuclear materials are being enriched or developed, particularly when there is a significant question as to the purpose for the enrichment. The sites that have been identified are located near Isfahan, Natanz, and other major population centers.

Distinguished policy organizations across the political spectrum, including the Cato Institute and the Brookings Institution, have concluded the political and emotional reaction to the death of Iranian civilians as a result of U.S. attacks could trigger a regional war, radicalize the Iranian people and Muslims throughout the world, and fan the flames of hatred and enmity for decades to come. Reaction would be particularly severe to an attack on the city of Isfahan, which is the crown jewel of Persian civilization, a UNESCO world heritage site, and a home to millions of people.

According to Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), nuclear strikes against the underground nuclear site in Isfahan—a scenario extensively discussed within U.S. foreign policy circles—would have catastrophic medical, genetic and environmental consequences. Using Department of Defense’s Hazard Prediction and Assessment Capability (HPAC v 3.2) software to model attacks with B61-11 earth penetrating weapons, PSR concluded that, within forty-eight hours, approximately two and a half million people would die from localized fallout, over ten million would be exposed to significant levels of radiation, and radioactive plumes would spread to neighboring countries and beyond. Attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities with conventional weapons might also result in the exposure of Iranian civilians and others to radioactive fallout from the sites.

The U.S. should not expose innocent Iranians or others to bombing and the risks of fallout when, as Defense Secretary Robert Gates has admitted, a U.S. attack would not be effective at ending any nuclear weapons program in which Iran might be engaged. Attacking Iran would also be extremely destructive to the security of the United States over the long term.
We urge you to act in solidarity with the Iranian people in their struggle for freedom, for democracy and for fundamental human rights. It is vital that we draw a firm distinction between the Iranian people and their illegitimate rulers. We must refuse to impose the kind of punitive sanctions that harm the Iranian people in response to the provocative rhetoric and belligerent conduct of a corrupt and criminal dictatorship most Iranians oppose.

As Ambassador Nicholas Burns and other diplomats have pointed out, the alternative to war is containment. Containment worked against the Soviet Union—a strategic and ideological enemy that posed a far greater threat to the United States and its allies than the Islamic Republic of Iran. And it will work against the government of Iran, a much weaker foe.
The Iranian people are not our enemies. They are our friends. They hold the key to promoting peace and security in the Middle East. The best way to solve any threat posed by Iran’s nuclear program is for the world to declare and demonstrate its support for the Iranian people’s demand for democracy and human rights.

We implore you to seek a peaceful solution to the nuclear issue and to advance a hopeful vision of a future marked by peace and friendship between the people of the United States and Iran.

Respectfully,

Anatoli Papirovski, Zachary Stickney, Private, Bridget Childress, Bill Denham, Sharon Weinblatt, Tara, Ellen Hibdon, soodabeh