TEHRAN — Rallies were held in 370 communities across the United states on Thursday, as people protested against U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies and further escalation of tensions with Iran.

According to the Daily Mail, protesters stepped out in the likes of Washington D.C., Nevada, New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Los Angeles to do their part to deescalate tensions between the two countries.

However, in Toledo, Ohio, it was anti-Trump versus pro-Trump demonstrators while the U.S. president was in the city for his first rally of the year.  

A liberal website promoted rallies in response to a series of events kicked by the assassination of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps general, Qassem Soleimani, last Friday.  

According to the Pentagon, Trump ordered the drone strike which martyred Soleimani near the Baghdad International Airport. 

The U.S. airstrike also martyred Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) and some other resistance forces.

Soleimani was buried in his hometown, Kerman, on Tuesday, after several funeral processions were held for him across the country, which drew millions of people into the streets.

MoveOn, Indivisible, Win Without War, the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), and About Face: Veterans Against the War groups protested against a war with Iran outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. 

One sign held by a man wearing a Trump mask read “I am your worst enemy”. Another man wearing a mask held a placard reading “No War or Sanctions on Iran!”

Beside a woman’s sign reading “9/11 an inside job to lead to war and Guantanamo”, were Witness Against Torture demonstrators standing with their heads covered. 

Shortly after the protests, the House of Representatives was slated to vote on a war powers resolution to limit any military action from the Trump administration against Iran.

“Trump’s reckless action has needlessly endangered countless lives of U.S. troops, Iraqis, Iranians, and countless other civilians,” MOVEON.ORG states. “The devastation that a war with Iran could bring upon the earth and humanity cannot be overstated — millions of lives hang in the balance.”

“We’ve learned our lessons from Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, and global endless war.”

The website stated the aim of the gathering was for the “anti-war majority” to get together in a grassroots visibility effort.

Signs at a demonstration in San Francisco, California read, “End American Imperialist War” and “Impeach the Climate Denier + Warmonger Trump”.

Another read: “War is wrong. Trump is a terrorist. Lock him up!”

MH/PA