Few Iranians were seen in the numerous but small gatherings. The protests were generally organized by long-time anti-war groups, many of which date back to the Vietnam era anti-war movement, and included many people who have been part of the “occupy” movement around the United States.
Stop War On Iran, the umbrella group, said protests were held in 80 cities and six countries. The largest gathering appeared to be in 
Manhattan, where Agence France Presse reported 500 people marched.
Stop War On Iran said an Iranian speaker in New York told the crowd the most important issue was the “thousands” of assassinations carried out against Iranian scientists, parliamentarians and cabinet ministers. The Islamic Republic blames Israel, Britain and the United States for the assassinations of three nuclear scientists over the last two years and alleges no other assassinations.
The theme of the protests as seen on numerous signs was: “No war; no sanctions; no intervention; no assassinations.”
Stop War On Iran stated, “Iran’s nuclear development is entirely 
peaceful; it is not building any nuclear weapons.”
Stop War On Iran said 300 people turned out in Boston and 200 in Los Angeles. It did not give any other numbers.
Local news reports culled by the Iran Times cited two dozen in Des Moines, Iowa, two dozen in Rock Hill, South Carolina, 20 in Raleigh, North Carolina, and an unstated number who gathered at a coffee house in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Those were the only cities where a computer search turned up news reports. Newspapers in larger US cities rarely bother to cover protests unless they are really big because small protests are almost a daily event.
In Washington, DC, there was a small anti-war protest in front of the White House that drew no local newspaper coverage. Multiple protests are routinely held at the White House every day.
In Tehran, the Fars news agency covered the marches, which it described as “massive” all across the United States.
In Des Moines, one protester told the Des Moines Register that the call for war “is all orchestrated propaganda” while another said, “Somebody’s going to make money off this thing.”
Almost all of the war hoopla has been heard on the Republican campaign circuit, but the protesters seemed to feel it was a national campaign for war embracing even President Obama. A leaflet distributed in New York said, “In many ways, US war on Iran has already begun,” citing “harsh economic sanctions” against Iran, “killing Iranian scientists in car bombings” and that “US aircraft carriers are right off Iran’s shore.”
Debra Sweet, director of the organization The World Can’t Wait, said, “I don’t know what Obama will do, but I do know what he has done, which is very hard sanctions that only will hurt ordinary people.”
In Kalamazoo, Raelyn Joyce said, “I believe that the country is addicted to war—war as a method of solving problems.… I mean, why, why would we ever think of military means as the first way of responding? Diplomacy is the way, talking, communication.”
