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March 12, 2026

Mar. 11 – On this day in 1959, the play “A Raisin in the Sun” opens at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in New York City. Lorraine Hansberry’s drama about a struggling Black family in Chicago, starring Sidney Poitier, was the first play written by a Black woman to be produced on Broadway. It was a massive success, running for 530 performances.

STOP THE WAR ON IRAN!

On Feb. 28, President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a completely unprovoked, illegal, immoral and murderous war against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Trump was fresh from bombing the capital of Venezuela and kidnapping President Nicolas Maduro and “First Combatant” Cilia Flores. Netanyahu leads the genocide still being committed against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.

So far, this new war has resulted in the deaths of at least 1,230 people in Iran, 397 in Lebanon and 11 in Israel (Richmond Times-Dispatch, 3/9/26), along with at least eight U.S. soldiers, with another 140 wounded. (The New York Times, 3/10/26) Among the dead is Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Of the many changing reasons Trump has given for starting this war, the main one is his claim that Iran was just weeks away from developing a nuclear weapon, and would have used it against Israel and possibly the United States.

This is a bold-faced lie, and the U.S. has offered no evidence to support it. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog body, maintains that there is no evidence that Iran is trying to develop such a weapon. Read more here.

DIRECT FROM TEHRAN:
A first-hand account of the bombing

Habib Ahmadzadeh is a noted Iranian author and filmmaker whom we met on our trip to Iran in 2007. We have stayed in touch, and recently sponsored showings of one of his films, “Ameneh’s Golden Blood,” at Eleanor’s bookstore in Norfolk and the Afterglow restaurant in Richmond. (“Golden blood” refers to a very rare blood type, which an Iranian family desperately needed to obtain in order to save the life of one of their daughters. The film is a story of compassion, determination and international solidarity.)

Habib has been sending us emails about what it’s like to live under the U.S./Israeli bombing, as well as his views on the wider issues. His emails are posted on the Facebook page of The Virginia Defender and can be read here.

NEW WEBINAR:
US/Israel/Canada – Hands Off Iran!

Just days before the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran, the Canada-wide Peace & Justice Network, which includes more than 60 organizations, hosted a webinar that provides an excellent overview of the history of U.S. aggression against this oil-rich country, as well as the implications of the war for the region and the entire world.

The panelists included Mona Ghassemi, President, Iranian Canadian Congress; Zafar Bangash, Director, Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought; Editorial Board Member, Crescent International; Ken Stone, Member, Coordinating Committee, Canada-wide Peace & Justice Network; Executive Member, Sovereignty Support Movement for West Asia; Janine Solanki, Member, Coordinating Committee, Canada-wide Peace & Justice Network; Chair, Mobilization Against War & Occupation (MAWO); and Phil Wilayto, Editor, The Virginia Defender; Author, “In Defense of Iran: Notes from a U.S. Peace Delegation’s Journey through the Islamic Republic.”

You can view the webinar on Youtube here.

REISSUED: “In Defense of Iran: Notes from a U.S. Peace Delegation’s Journey Through the Islamic Republic.”

This is the book that Virginia Defender editor Phil Wilayto wrote after leading a five-person delegation of peace and social justice activists in 2007 to Iran. The trip involved a 1,200-mile journey by van through cities now being bombed by the U.S. and Israel. The book takes on the many charges the U.S. makes against Iran: that it’s trying to develop a nuclear bomb; that it hates the Jewish people and wants to physically destroy Israel; that it oppresses Iranian women; and more. “In Defense of Iran” had been out of print, but it has just been reissued. To order, send a check or money order for $20.80 (includes sales tax and shipping) made payable to Virginia Defender Press LLC and send it with your name and address to: Defenders, PO Box 23202, Richmond, VA 23223.

‘STOP THE WAR ON IRAN!’

On March 1, the Defenders held a rally outside the federal courthouse in downtown Richmond, demanding an immediate end to the war on Iran. Many organizations and individuals spoke during the open mic section of the rally. Several other protests also took place in Richmond and in other Virginia cities. To follow developments, find out about other actions and see more photos from the March 1 rally, check out the Facebook page of The Virginia Defender and follow us on Instagram at virginiadefendernews.