'Stop the war': Los Angeles protesters decry U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran

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Protests against the U.S.-Israeli military strikes on Iran — which have led to a widening war in the Middle East — were held Monday in dozens of cities nationwide.In downtown Los Angeles, about 150 people gathered in front of City Hall.As the protest spilled into the right-hand lanes of Spring Street, organizers handed out signs with slogans including “Stop the war on Iran,” and thanked people for coming to protest after work.

Speakers called the attack an illegal act of war that violated the sovereignty of Iran and its people in an effort to force regime change.Iranians “are not able to control their own resources and their own future, and that’s not how it should be,” said Aida Ashouri, a candidate for L.A.city attorney.

“Iranians deserve, just like we do, the right to choose their own leaders.”The protests, happening Monday in about 40 cities nationwide, as ABC-7 reported, were organized by a loose coalition of about 30 groups.Activists said the attack on Iran could destabilize the Middle East and put Americans in danger.

After the attacks, California military bases and others throughout the U.S.were stepping up security measures.Against the backdrop of city lights on Monday evening, L.A.

protesters chanted, “No more blood for oil” and “Hands off Iran” while nearby vendors handed out printed canvas totes and urged voters to sign local petitions.Some attendees, such as Joe Wagner, a city Metro employee, brought his own sign, which read, “Iran has a right to a nuclear deterrent against nuclear armed U.S.and Israel.”“This is what U.S.

imperialism does,” the 54-year-old said, saying that the war was not just a result of President Trump’s policies and warmongering but of “phony nuclear deals” Democrats had made with Iran in the past.The Iran nuclear deal, formally the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was finalized in 2015, when Obama ...