No US War on Iran: An Open Letter to the UN Security Council. By Jeffrey D. Sachs (February 16, 2026)

No US War on Iran: An Open Letter to the UN Security Council

The current threat of an attack by the US did not begin with any failure by Iran to negotiate. On the contrary, it began with the United States’ repudiation of negotiations that had already succeeded.

By Jeffrey D. Sachs

February 16, 2026

 

Distinguished Members of the Security Council,

The President of the United States is issuing grave threats of force against the Islamic Republic of Iran if it does not accede to US demands. His actions risk a major regional war that would be devastating. Asked if he wanted regime change, he responded that it “seems like that would be the best thing that could happen.” When asked why a second US aircraft carrier has been sent to the region, President Trump answered “in case we don’t make a deal, we’ll need it … if we need it, we’ll have it ready.”

These threats are in violation of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, which declares that “All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.”

These threats come in the context of Iran’s repeated calls for negotiations. Moreover, on February 7, Iran’s Foreign Minister delivered a speech in Doha proposing comprehensive negotiations for regional peace, following a round of talks in Oman supported by the diplomacy of the Arab states and Türkiye. Even as a second round of negotiations has been announced, the US is resorting to escalating threats of force.

Read more: https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/jeffrey-sachs-un-security-council-iran

PDF: JS16.2.2026

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See also:

No War on Iran — Build An Anti-Imperialist Resistance

By U.S. Peace Council

Corrina Mullin in conversation with Nina Farnia and Ajamu Baraka

Febraury 13, 2026

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdY2CsqQMHE

 

U.S. Peace Council Webinar featuring Ajamu Baraka (U.S. Peace Council Secretariat) and  Nina Farnia (Anti-Imperialist Scholards Collective). This webinar examines sanctions, hybrid warfare, Zionist expansion, and the role of propaganda and information warfare in manufacturing consent for imperialist intervention.

Grounded in historical and material analysis, the conversation will situate the current crisis within the long arc of U.S. imperialism, regime-change operations, and resource control in Western Asia. What are the stakes for Palestinian liberation, Iranian sovereignty, and global multipolarity? And how can movements in the imperialist core build principled resistance to sanctions, militarism, and imperialist war?

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