USA: Anti-war activists rally at Trump's DC hotel to oppose war with Iran

Nearly 200 anti-war activists rallied in Washington DC, on Saturday to protest the US airstrike which killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani on Friday and caused an escalation of tensions with Iran.

Protesters gathered outside the White House and headed toward the Trump International Hotel, carrying banners and chanting "No war on Iran."

A number of activists addressed the crowds, including leader of ANSWER Coalition Brian Becker and actress Jane Fonda, who stated "Please understand the Pentagon is the biggest institutional user of fossil fuel in the world.

That we can't anymore lose lives and kill people and ruin environments because of oil and fossil fuels." "It means not only a violation of everything legal, of everything moral, of everything ethical", said Becker, adding that "the US bombs Iranians, they say 'well, they're Iranians, they are not our people'."

According to organizers, several rallies took place in 70 US cities in response to Friday's drone attack.

Protest rallies across US

Groups of protesters took to the streets in Washington and other US cities on Saturday to condemn the air strike in Iraq ordered by President Donald Trump that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani and Trump's decision to send about 3,000 more troops to the Middle East.

"No justice, no peace. US out of the Middle East," hundreds of demonstrators chanted outside the White House before marching to the Trump International Hotel a few blocks away.

Similar protests were held in New York, Chicago and other cities. Organizers at Code Pink, a women-led anti-war group, said protests were scheduled on Saturday in numerous U.S. cities
and towns.

Protesters in Washington held signs that read "No war or sanctions on Iran!" and "US troops out of Iraq!"

Speakers at the Washington event included actress and activist Jane Fonda, who last year was arrested at a climate change protest on the steps of the US Capitol.

"The younger people here should know that all of the wars fought since you were born have been fought over oil," Fonda, 82, told the crowd, adding that "we can't anymore lose lives and kill people and ruin an environment because of oil."

"Going to a march doesn't do a lot, but at least I can come out and say something: that I'm opposed to this stuff," said protester Steve Lane of Bethesda, Maryland. "And maybe if enough people do the same thing, he (Trump) will listen."

Soleimani, regarded as the second most powerful figure in Iran, was killed in the U.S. strike on his convoy at Baghdad

Public opinion polls show Americans in general have been opposed to US military interventions overseas. A survey last year by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs found 27% of Americans believe military interventions make the United States safer, and nearly half said they make the country less safe.

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