More than 100 Iranians living in the UK, including former political prisoner Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, have signed a letter urging Prime Minister Keir Starmer not to get drawn further into the conflict with Iran. The signatories argue that the current conduct of the war is strengthening the regime in Tehran.
The letter serves as a counterpoint to members of the Iranian diaspora who support attacks on Iran as a precursor to regime change. It states: “Nobody can claim to want the end of the Islamic republic more than we do. But attacking the country in this way will have the opposite effect. It will entrench the authoritarians and give life to the fiction that has sustained them internally for decades: that they are fighting western imperialism.”
The signatories criticise Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, describing him as “a man charged with international war crimes after killing countless civilians in Gaza”. They argue that his assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, “kills the man but immortalises the myth”, as Iranians wanted him tried and punished rather than given a martyr’s death.
The letter proposes peaceful steps to support internal opposition, such as providing Starlink to end communications blackouts and protecting political prisoners. It warns against bombing prisons like Evin, where future democratic leaders are held, and calls for smuggling internet devices rather than weapons across the border.
The group expresses grief over the situation, noting that many have not been able to visit Iran for years for fear of imprisonment. They reject Netanyahu’s call for Iranians to “rise up to finish the job”, arguing that it wrongly assumes 90 million people have been waiting for his bombs. They also highlight US involvement, quoting Secretary of State Marco Rubio on preemptive strikes.
