Raha attended the United National Anti-War Coalition (UNAC) anti-war conference organizing a panel on the topic of how to respond to mounting US/Israeli threats of war on Iran. In the panel we countered the notion of sanctions as an alternative to war, describing sanctions as a form of economic warfare that can be a prelude to military intervention. We also argued that anti-war activists must not only oppose all forms of intervention but also seek to act in solidarity with people’s movements in Iran that have faced severe political repression. We proposed new strategies for building international solidarity from a feminist perspective that moves from the bottom up.
Raha, with ally organization Havaar: Iranian Initiative against War, Sanctions and State Repression, also submitted and advocated for a resolution, stating, “We oppose war and sanctions against the Iranian people and stand in solidarity with their struggle against state repression and all forms of outside intervention.” While the resolution did not pass, it generated significant debate and furthered our goal of challenging the framework for engagement with Iranian people’s struggles among many on the left.