Iranian Writers' Association: War would benefit both Israel and the Islamic Republic of Iran. It undermines the freedom movement's achievements in Iran
Statement by the Iranian Writers' Association on Israel's recent attack on Iran
The Iranian Writers’ Association
Since its formation in monarchy-era Iran in the 1960s, the Iranian Writers’ Association has been a key Iranian organisation battling for democracy, human rights and social change, and fighting for free thought and against censorship. The following statement was published by the Iranian Writers’ Association on 16 June 2025 in response to the illegal Israeli air strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran. According to the Association, these strikes undermine the achievements of the Woman Life Freedom protest movement in Iran.
The death toll has now reached the hundreds and smoke from war has risen from Tehran and other cities in Iran.
Israel, which has been killing Palestinians in Gaza for months and forcing survivors to starve, has now extended its warmongering and aggression to Iran with its plan for a 'New Middle East'. Those who have stood against the oppression and crimes of the Islamic Republic for years, losing their most beautiful children to street massacres, executions and detention centres while enduring poverty, corruption and organised discrimination, are now feeling the boots of a foreign enemy on their throats.
A war between a fascist regime built on occupation and genocide and a government founded on the bloodshed of dissidents and freedom seekers not only destroys people’s lives, but also halts — if not reverses — years of struggle for freedom and equality. There is now serious concern that the achievements of Iran's 2022 freedom movement, itself growing from earlier uprisings, may vanish amid this assault, replaced by extreme nationalism, racial extremism and a new form of fascism on the scorched earth left behind.
This is especially concerning when both sides — Israel and the Islamic Republic — view war as a 'blessing' and a source of power. Following the logic of its leaders, Israel considers every moving target legitimate. With the help of the mainstream media, it is now pushing back the growing public outrage against the genocide in Gaza. Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic is laying the groundwork for more arrests and killings of its opponents, while its online loyalists openly speak of creating another '1988' [the mass execution of political prisoners].
All of this is happening before the eyes of a world in which two dominant media outlets are stifling independent voices: one that portrays a state guilty of numerous war crimes as a heroic saviour, and another that conceals the repressive nature of the Islamic Republic behind the label of 'defending the homeland'. People's joy at seeing the death of their oppressors should never be mistaken for welcoming the invasion of their land and lives.
But how, under state censorship, insecurity, war anxiety and relentless media warfare, can people find their true voice and position? How can they mobilise their immense power of solidarity to support one another? How can they stop this killing machine?
The Iranian Writers' Association condemns Israel's blatant attack on Iranian soil and calls on freedom-loving writers, intellectuals and like-minded institutions in Iran and around the world to fulfil their true, enlightening role of breaking the dominant media binary in favour of amplifying the independent voices of the people and strengthening their freedom movements.
Iranian Writers’ Association
16 June 2025