13th June 2025

Press release

For immediate use

The Committee for the Defence of Iranian People’s Rights (CODIR) has condemned as outrageous the Israeli military attack upon Iran when talks with the United States were ongoing and due to enter their sixth round this Sunday.

While US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has distanced the US from the Israeli action it is widely known that such an act of international provocation could not be undertaken without tacit US backing.

While the media, including the BBC, characterise the attack as one upon Iran’s nuclear facilities there is widespread evidence of civilian areas being hit, targets which were clearly not economic or military in nature, including attacks upon the capital, Tehran and targets in cities in the central, western and southern provinces of the country.

Reports from Iran suggest that hundreds of civilians, including children, have been killed in the strikes though exact numbers are yet to be confirmed.

The Israelis have defended the action as being the only option open to them, in spite of the ongoing dialogue between Iran and the US since March 2025.  Israeli claims that the Iranian regime was on the brink of being able to weaponise its civilian nuclear capability were even denied by US intelligence sources as recently as March this year.

“The British people, trade union movement and British government need to be sending a clear message to the Israeli government that this is an outrageous breach of all international norms, for which there will be consequences”, said CODIR General Secretary, Gawain Little.  “Israel has been allowed to act with impunity in Gaza and clearly now has the people of Iran in its sights.  This action is not only a provocation in the Middle East but a threat to world peace.”

The Israeli strikes killed the Commander in Chief of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC), Hossein Salami, and a number of senior army and IRGC commanders as well as assassinating a number of Iranian scientists.

The withdrawal of the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018, during Donald Trump’s first term as President, was the starting point for the policy of ‘maximum pressure’ applied upon Iran by the US, which heralded a stepping up of already punitive sanctions.

The current tension in the Middle East, due to the Israeli genocide in Gaza and the weakening of Iran’s so-called Axis of Resistance of Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthi organisations, had increased the likelihood of a further military strike against Iran, either directly by the US or by Israel.

CODIR is calling for the convening of an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to urgently de-escalate the current situation.

CODIR is calling upon all affiliates to demand that the British government supports such a call and condemns, in no uncertain terms, the unilateral action of the Israeli government.

CODIR is calling for peace, trade union and human rights organisations in Britain to back the call for talks to reach a peaceful conclusion in the interests of reconstruction in the country and the urgent needs of the population in Iran.

ENDS

Further information for Editors

Contact Information for CODIR:-

Postal Address:
B.M.CODIR
London
WC1N 3XX
UK
Website: www.codir.net
E-mail: codir_info@btinternet.com

Further information on CODIR

CODIR is the Committee for the Defence of the Iranian People’s Rights.  It has been established since 1981 and has consistently campaigned to expose human rights abuses in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

CODIR has worked closely with the trade union movement in the UK, the peace movement, all major political parties and Amnesty International to press the case for an end to torture in Iran’s prisons.  Major trade unions in Britain are affiliated to CODIR and support its campaign for peace, human and democratic rights, and social justice in Iran.

CODIR has published Iran Today, its quarterly journal, since 1981, explaining the latest developments in Iran and the most effective way that the British public opinion could demonstrate its solidarity with the people of Iran.

In recent years CODIR has worked closely with Stop the War Coalition and has been vocal against any form of foreign intervention in the internal affairs of the nation.