Report on IPC Meeting No. 108
June 28, 2025 (EIRNS)—The 108th consecutive weekly online meeting of the International Peace Coalition, on Friday, June 27 was opened by Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder of the Schiller Institute, who gave an update on the war in Iran. She questioned President Trump’s triumphal proclamations of success, saying that “it is very likely that the Iranians foresaw what was happening” and removed equipment and materials from the targeted sites before they were bombed. She charged that “the International Atomic Energy Agency has, for the time being, lost all credibility,” because they helped shape an environment that aided those who wanted an attack on Iran. We also need an investigation into Palantir and the use of AI in this regard. Worst of all is the damage to International Law by an unprovoked war of aggression, lowering the barrier to similar acts by other nations. She contrasted the hyperventilating about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to Trump’s bragging about his unprovoked attack on Iran, saying, “It is apparent to the whole world that this double standard exists…. Lawlessness is now ruling.”
Turning to her homeland of Germany, she said she was appalled by Chancellor Merz’s statement that “Israel is doing the dirty work for all of us.” “It reveals the colonial or neocolonial mindset on the part of Merz,” Zepp-LaRouche observed. Finally, she emphasized that the call by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, for a new international strategic architecture, is of crucial importance.
Former U.S. Congressman and Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich strongly agreed, saying, “We have to recognize that the security architecture which is in place right now has been shredded.” He called the yearning of the neocons for a regime change in Iran a “fantasy” which would require an invasion with two million troops and a return to conscription in the U.S. “The unbridled use of the military is a challenge for the United States right now,” he said. Further echoing Zepp-LaRouche, he said that “the West is still up to their old colonial tricks.” Kucinich described the situation as being very dangerous but filled with great potential for good.
Graham Fuller, a former U.S. diplomat, CIA official, and Islamic scholar, presented his own assessment of the war against Iran, saying that “this was a serious loss for Israel.” Israel has been claiming that Iran was on the verge of nuclear weapons for 25 years, but now “Netanyahu is not going to be able to fear-monger on this same issue again.” Israel thought they could act with impunity; they did not expect Iran to retaliate so successfully. “The idea of the very invulnerability of Israel has been called into question,” said Fuller, adding that “the idea of Israel as an unsinkable aircraft carrier for the United States has been shattered.” The U.S. has tried to exploit Sunni-Shi’a conflicts, but was outflanked by Chinese diplomacy, which pulled off the reconciliation between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The entire Persian Gulf supported Iran in this recent war. In Fuller’s view, Iran’s response to a savage attack by the U.S. was “extraordinarily muted,” a cause for optimism, and “Trump has proven his masculinity … maybe now feels that he can step back and try diplomacy to seek rapprochement with Iran.” Another cause for optimism was the victory of Zohran Mamdani in the New York City election, where maybe we see hints of a world that is no longer dominated by settler colonialism.
Mossi Raz, former Israeli Knesset member and former Director-General of Peace Now, opined that we don’t really know the results of war on Iran, but it’s not that important. What’s important is that there be a political agreement for lasting peace. We need a two-state solution, because “the Israelis will not have security if the Palestinians don’t have security.” He reported on an important pre-discussion he participated in before the now soon-to-be-rescheduled UN Palestinian two-state meeting. Raz described that hundreds of Palestinians and Israelis joined to discuss the two-state solution.
In response, Zepp-LaRouche expressed her concern about what will happen when Trump’s boasts of success are disproven by events. She is worried that the neocons will press for a resumption of the war. She warned about the unchecked use of AI for military purposes, which could have unforeseeable consequences. She added later that AI is technology like any other, it can be used for good or evil, but we must focus on the moral character of the people who are using it. We need to convince leaders in the U.S. and Europe to join with the Global Majority, and “stop the geopolitical idea of domination.”
Activist Reports from Around the World
Carolina Domínguez of the Mexican LaRouche movement, described a planned conference at an important university, where they will discuss the Oasis Plan and the movement’s perspective of peace through development. She described an approach she called “classrooming,” in which organizers visit classrooms and ask the professor for one minute in which to brief the students on the strategic crisis, then meet them outside afterward for in-depth discussions. She said that they will be presenting a performance of classical music works by their chorus at the upcoming conference, to serve the need to “ennoble the soul of the population” in order to achieve peace.
Kynan Thistlethwaite reported from France, and Anastasia Battle from Germany, on the John Quincy Adams Brigade, comprised of Americans organizing in Europe to prepare for the Berlin conference of the Schiller Institute on July 12-13.
Tim Rush and Jose Vega reported on organizing activities in the U.S. There were also reports from Denmark, Sweden, and other locations.
Discussion
An unusual question was sent to the panelists: If the criminal charges in Israel against Netanyahu could be canceled, as Trump demands, would that reduce his motivation for starting regional wars? Co-moderator Dennis Small said we must look at the hand behind the scenes, typified by the “Clean Break” document that was issued in 1996 to then newly elected Prime Minister Netanyahu by U.S. neocons after the Nov. 4, 1995 assassination of Yitzhak Rabin. Fuller added that those who follow the situation closely know that Netanyahu is not even the most murderous politician in the Israeli establishment.
Zepp-LaRouche reported on her participation in a recent conference in Spain, which featured an encouraging level of youth participation, and representation from many nations and cultures. In response to a question about the economic impetus for war, she said, “As long as people are trying to solve their debt by wars, we are on a trajectory toward catastrophe.”
Eric Rubin, of the International Legal Forum, an independent, Israel-based NGO, reported on the activities of his group to activate UN Resolution 377 (United for Peace) to circumvent the U.S. veto in the Security Council. He said that the only way to stop atrocity on the Palestinians is to send UN peacekeeping troops into the occupied territories. Their website can be accessed here: https://www.ilfngo.org/.
In conclusion, Zepp-LaRouche said, “I’m absolutely certain that we will only get out of this really deplorable situation by mobilizing the better visions of what mankind can be.” Returning to her participation in the June 25 Madrid conference, she reported that people from entirely different backgrounds all said that what we need is love for humanity. The ideas of Schiller, that people have the capacity to become Beautiful Souls, are the natural vocation of Man. The 10th, and possibly the most controversial, principle of her Ten Principles for a New International Security and Development Architecture, is that Man is good by nature. We should have compassion for the Armselige, the wretched creatures who think that we need war. [eir]
