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Last Updated on February 5, 2014.

Today, the Win Without War coalition and Berim.org released the following statement:

February 5, 2014.  Washington, DC.

Yesterday, as Senator Menendez convened a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Iran, a peace delegation flew in from 12 keys states and met with 40 Republican and Democrat Congressional offices to advocate for diplomacy with Iran.

The peace delegation was organized by Berim.org in partnership with the Win Without War coalition. Delegates included veterans from three U.S. wars, Iranian-Americans, Israeli-Americans, and social change makers from Iran.

Delegates’ stories recounted war experiences from Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan and concerns that the alternative to diplomacy would be another costly war in the Middle East. Berim.org’s President and CoFounder, Roshanak Ameli-Tehrani said of the peace delegation’s diversity, “It was amazing to see Americans who, prior to this action, had really never given Iran much thought working hand in hand with Iranian change leaders in a push for peace and diplomacy.”

Berim.org is a movement with over 150,000 supporters that work to empower Iranian change makers.  Sara Haghdoosti, CEO and CoFounder of Berim.org commented, “Our peace delegation shows that ordinary Americans from all over the country don’t want to see another war in the Middle East.  They want their representatives to give diplomacy a chance.”

Win Without War is a coalition of national organizations with diverse constituencies totaling over 11 million members. The coalition seeks national security policies which both meet challenges of the 21st century and are consistent with our nation’s highest values. Stephen Miles, Win Without War’s coalition coordinator, commented, “This delegation helped bring a small sample of the overwhelming majority of Americans who want to see diplomacy with Iran, not another war. There’s a lively debate in Washington about Iran, and it’s time that Congress started listening to the American people.”

For photos or comments about the event, please contact Roshanak Ameli-Tehrani at roshanak@Berim.org, Sara Haghdoosti at sara@Berim.org, or Stephen Miles at stephen@winwithoutwar.org.

February 5, 2014