LOS ANGELES, California — Activists and concerned citizens on both sides of the Iran Deal stood outside Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu’s office on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, urging the freshman congressman to take a stance on the nuclear accords that are slated to be voted on September 17.
“The power of the people must rise up. Everybody, let’s call for peace,” a female protester in favor of the deal based on her belief that it would prevent war spoke over the loudspeaker on Wednesday. Many of the roughly 60 protesters present in front of Lieu’s office Wednesday were from MoveOn.org. Chants of “this is what democracy looks like” filled the atmosphere.
Former Iranian prisoner Ali Shakeri, who works on the Community Advisory Board of the Center for Citizen Peacebuilding at the University of California, Irvine, said that he is supporting this agreement with the hope that “the relationship of Iran and the U.S. is going to damage and break the backbone of terrorism and bring tranquilization and democracy in Iran.”
Just one day before, members of Stand With Us stood outside of Lieu’s office holding up signs reading “the Iran Deal is bad for America” and “the world can’t afford a nuclear Iran” urging Lieu to join a growing number of ranking Democrats who are coming out against the historic accords.
An Iranian man named Jacob, who was born Muslim but does not practice religion, told Breitbart News that he believes the deal might bring a degree of stability to Iran’s suffering population for a few years. However, it will soon after return back to the same suffering and misery the Iranian people are currently enduring under this regime. “The people of Iran’s only concern is feeding their families.” He said they are so destitute that “they don’t give a f*** about freedom,” Jacob said.
So far, Californian members of Congress who have come out against the deal include Reps. Brad Sherman, Rep. Luis Alejo, Rep. Henry T. Perea, and Rep. Juan Vargas.
Rep. Lieu was not present in the office, although several people at the Stand With Us demonstration spoke with his staff. “We would like for the Congressman to listen to his constituents and respect our opinion and not to take pressure from the White House to vote yes,” Iranian-American Mehrzad told Breitbart News. “The way Iran has conducted itself in the world for the past 37 years does not warrant trust and I don’t understand why we’re making a deal with Iran when they have not kept their promises,” a woman named Sabrina said.
Reps. Susan Davis, Linda Sanchez, and Karen Bass announced they would be supporting the deal this week. Breitbart News spoke with Bass on Saturday and asked if her position on the deal had changed in light of new information suggesting a secret side deal that would allow for Iran to self-inspect its key military site in Parchin.
“Well, so far it hasn’t because my understanding is that, that is not accurate; that Iran would not be allowed to inspect its own facilities.” She said she would call Ambassador Susan Rice “who I know and work with well,” before announcing her final decision.
Actor Ricco Ross took to the loudspeaker outside of Rep. Lieu’s office on Wednesday. “War is business,” he said, echoing many in Hollywood and who work in his industry. “It is so big that it outweighs the life of women and children. These politicians look at war the way a gambler looks at a casino.”
War is not the only alternative should the deal be rejected, as many on the left who are in support of the deal have suggested.
So far, Californian members of Congress who have come out against the deal include Democratic Reps. Brad Sherman and Juan Vargas. Assemblymen Luis Alejo and Henry T. Perea also announced their opposition on Tuesday.
Outside of Sherman’s office in Sherman Oaks on Wednesday, a Muslim Iranian woman told Breitbart News that she supports the Iran Deal, but admitted that Hezbollah and Hamas are terrorist organizations being funded by the ayatollahs. “This is not good” that America is negotiating with a regime that supports terrorism, she said.
Meanwhile, a Russian Israeli man who referred to the democratic nation as an “apartheid state” which holds “occupied territories,” was confronted by an American woman on her way to a dental appointment who overheard his interview with Breitbart News.
Woman: Shame on the American Jews who are anti-Israel and want to kill us. Shame on you guys.
Man: Shame on you! You are war monger.
Woman: Fuck you.
Man: This is language of the fascists. This is the language of Nazis. This is how they talk.
Nearby, a man named Todd took a break from his work day to protest against the seasoned congressman’s opposition to the Iran Deal. Asked if he believed Iran could be trusted not to cheat on this deal, considering their dishonesty with their nuclear program in the past, he said “lots of countries have cheated about a lot of things, including us [America].”
He continued, “I don’t care if we’re the most powerful nation in the world” and said that America, Russia’s Putin and many hardliners in Iran were all guilty of “dick-waving. There’s a lot of hyper-masculine men in power around the world,” Todd complained.
Follow Adelle Nazarian on Twitter @AdelleNaz and on Facebook.
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