June 19, 2026 (EIRNS)—The 159th consecutive weekly online meeting of the International Peace Coalition (IPC) took place at the end of an historic week, two days after the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the U.S. and Iran had been signed. Helga Zepp-LaRouche, Schiller Institute founder and IPC initiator, told the participants that “it is a great relief that the Memorandum of Understanding has been signed,” but that there are still “many possible booby traps” that remain. She asked, “What will Trump do if Israel does not adhere to the agreement?” She reiterated her proposed solution, that a development strategy centered on the Oasis Plan is required to provide a lasting basis for genuine peace.
The neocons’ desired “unipolar world,” dominated by the Anglosphere, has failed, Zepp-LaRouche announced. The nations of the Global South are no longer dependent upon the colonial powers; the rise of China gives them another option for economic ties. “The Chinese experiment is a wonderful success story,” she said. She placed great importance on Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, which calls for a “civilization of love,” and recalled that the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius wrote that “you can decide to feel love at will.” Zepp-LaRouche has just authored a statement titled “Urgent Appeal from Pope Leo XIV: ‘Stop! Repent! Before It’s Too Late!’ The New Name for Peace Is Development!”
Dr. Abdullah Ahsan is a professor of comparative civilization who has taught in Malaysia and Türkiye. He said that after reading the Pope’s statement, we must ask, “Is a civilization of love possible, or not?” Dr. Ahsan believes that it is. But there must be trust based on human dignity, and this will not be easily achieved. Israel challenged the MOU within hours by bombing Lebanon. Dr. Ahsan also called attention to the mistreatment of the Iranian soccer team, which is competing at the FIFA World Cup tournament in the U.S., but has been forced to leave the country immediately after each match, preventing planned recovery time, and must base itself in Tijuana, Mexico.
An excerpt was featured from a video interview by EIR’s Gerald Belsky with Dr. Mohammad A. Toor, chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Pakistani American Congress, and president of American Pakistani Physicians for Justice and Democracy. He discussed the importance of regional cooperation for economic development in order to create the foundation for peace. He specifically noted the possibility of now extending the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, all the way through Pakistan and even into neighboring India.
An Inflection Point for Brazil
Luiz Erthal, editor-in-chief of the Brazilian newspaper Toda Palavra, said that the G7 summit “was an inflection point in Brazilian foreign policy.” He reported that Brazilian President Lula went to the meeting to make it clear to the largest economies of the world that they cannot ignore the development needs of the Global South. He went to meet U.S. President Donald Trump in a defiant, challenging posture, after Trump had endorsed the extreme right-wing candidacy of Flávio Bolsonaro, whom Trump managed to confuse with his brother, Eduardo, both sons of the jailed former President Jair Bolsonaro. Trump avoided Lula at the conference. Lula made it clear in France that Brazil will not tolerate foreign interference in its internal affairs. He said that Trump talks too much, and now he is going to have to listen. The countries of the Global South will not accept being isolated from China, a country that offers them a real opportunity for economic development.
On the question of more humane treatment for migrants, Erthal reported that Brazil has received more than 2 million immigrants, from countries such as Venezuela and Cuba, and is processing a growing number of claims for asylum. “Fortunately, Brazil has a welcoming attitude toward these people.”
LaRouche Organization activist Tim Rush offered a report from congressional office visits in Washington, D.C., where he and his team spoke on the issue of the attempted merger of the U.S., Israeli and British defense and intelligence establishments. This is the intent of Section 219 of this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). “This is an arm of something much bigger than Israel per se,” Rush said. The young staffers with whom they met were astonished by the discussion of great infrastructure projects that recall a time in American history of which they were unaware.
This report was followed by another video excerpt, this time from a Pakistani TV interview with Helga Zepp-LaRouche. She said that Trump himself had admitted that he had to make peace with Iran in order to avert a global economic calamity. In response to an interviewer’s question, she once again developed the ideas in the extended Oasis Plan.
At the conclusion of the presentations, Zepp-LaRouche reminded Americans that $2.2 trillion in taxpayer money was spent on the Afghanistan war, and the results were “pitiful.” A fraction of that money, spent on development, could have turned Afghanistan into a “blossoming nation.”
Discussion Highlights
Activists from around the planet shared their experiences in organizing for peace.
John Steinbach is a veteran anti-nuclear activist and the co-founder of the Hiroshima/Nagasaki Peace Committee of the National Capital Area. He offered a report on the recent vigil by his organization.
A Spanish Schiller Institute activist reported on a campaign to send letters to every bishop in Spain, recently visited by Pope Leo XIV, in support of the Schiller Institute’s peace proposals.
One participant sent in a question to Luiz Erthal regarding an effective means for combating drug trafficking while also respecting national sovereignty, as opposed to the U.S. approach. Erthal responded that Brazil’s Federal Police have been very effective in combating drugs, and that the U.S. should not use the “War on Drugs” as a cover for political purposes that violate other countries’ sovereignty. Instead, the U.S. should crack down on money laundering. In his concluding remarks, Erthal saluted the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, which helped to inspire Brazilian independence.
In her concluding remarks, Zepp-LaRouche replied to a German participant who had referred to a divergence between technological advance and moral development in nations. She recalled the contributions of space pioneer Krafft Ehricke, who had served on the board of the Schiller Institute, and emphasized the importance of Schiller’s concept of Aesthetical Education.
She went on to contrast her late husband’s real-time assessment of the 9/11 attacks as having an “inside job” component, to recent statements by Palantir Technologies co-founder Peter Thiel, who praised the 9/11 catastrophe as a “Straussian moment,” a reference to Thiel’s 2003 essay by that name. Thiel insists that such “moments” represent a transitional phase where Western elites may use covert power to manage the world. As Zepp-LaRouche put it, they seek continual crises, which they exploit to stay in control. This defines the method of our opponents, which is necessary to understand in our campaign for lasting peace.
