RootsAction has published a statement on the current situation in Iran. It begins:
"RootsAction stands in solidarity with Iranian people — teachers, workers, shopkeepers, women, children, and minorities of every religious and ethnic background — who are rising up against repression in pursuit of justice, basic freedom and dignity. What Iranians show time and time again is resilience and courage. In addition to living under strict laws and abuses of human rights by the regime, Iranians have endured decades of economic hardship and pressure from outside forces that have repeatedly exploited this pain, treating Iranian lives as political tools.
"For years, U.S. sanctions have been used as weapons of war against Iranians and as tools of collective punishment. Rather than weakening authoritarian elites, these sanctions have crushed ordinary people. They have halted the export and import of basic medical supplies, devastated civil society, and collapsed currencies, making survival itself a daily struggle. At the same time, they have fueled black markets and strengthened the very security apparatus they claim to undermine. Every time Iranians take to the streets to protest, in response we hear slogans and hollow policies designed in Washington under the rhetoric of 'human rights.'"
