Reporting and photos by Maxine Walker

On 26 June the Julian Assange Defence Committee joined Stop the War’s ‘Don’t Attack Iran’ demonstration outside Downing Street. The demonstration was described as the first step in a bigger campaign to prevent war. It was mobilised during the week when the USA came within ten minutes of launching missile and air strikes against Iran which would have triggered another devastating war in the Middle East – with incalculable consequences.

Julian Assange and WikiLeaks published the truth about imperialist wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some of the cables published about Iran showed the active lobbying by Israel and Saudi Arabia for war and regime change in Iran. As Julian Assange said: ‘If war can be started by lies, peace can be started by truth.’ The fight to free Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning is a vital part of the struggle for peace.