Days before the United States struck nuclear facilities in Iran, anti-war advocates gathered in Monroe Park to denounce the involvement of the United States in growing aggression against the country.

About 70 people gathered around the Checkers House in Monroe Park on June 18 for an “emergency” protest organized by the Party for Socialism and Liberation Virginia. Speakers from various groups denounced the conflict as well as the impact of the war in Gaza on Palestinians.

The demonstration was the latest organized by PSL VA and other groups as part of a yearslong effort opposing wars in the Middle East, and came days after the Israeli military struck targets in Iran.

“Americans deserve better, for the love of God,” said Charlie Turner of the Virginia Muslim Civic League as he addressed the crowd. “What Americans don’t deserve, they don’t need and they don’t want [...] is another goddamn war.”

Speakers also acknowledged the conflict’s connection not just with the war in Gaza, but also the decades-long war in the Middle East that began in the early 2000s and whose effects still linger in the region and in America.

 Noah Irikawa speaks during a rally Wednesday, June 18, in Monroe Park to oppose U.S. military involvement with Iran and to protest violence in Palestine.
 

They also challenged the officials’ justification for the conflict and reminded those present of the costs of a full-scale war, including death and destruction, financial burdens, war profiteering and increased surveillance and militarization.

“It is now upon us to fix the problem, to wrestle back control and make the system work for us, and not for the billionaires that allowed, no, pushed for this to happen,” 50501 Virginia organizer Antoni Szachowicz said. “It is on us to rise up and let them know that we the people do not want this, that we will not stand for it.”

Speakers and organizers noted that the gathering was just the latest one pushing back against U.S.-backed military conflicts in the region, and part of a larger effort criticizing the federal government that has grown more in 2025.

“We need health care. We need jobs. We need affordable housing,” PSL VA Member David Robbins said. “We’re here to demand for that to change, not just for us here, but for people around the world so that we can build a more peaceful, just world.”