DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) — Communities in the Triangle are voicing their opposition to the Trump administration’s decision to strike Iran nuclear sites, less than a day after the president revealed Operation Midnight Hammer.
A few dozen people came together in Durham Sunday evening. They said they want Trump administration officials to know they want peace, and they are against what they say is a dangerous move.
“I was horrified to learn last night that we had bombed Iran,” said Amy Csorba, who came to the vigil.
Csorba, holding a sign that read “Tell our senators: We want peace” at the last-minute vigil.
The candlelight vigil came together in less than a day in response to the news that the US bombed three Iranian nuclear sites.
“It’s a serious thing that puts the United States, all of us, at risk and it should not be undertaken lightly,” Csorba said.
Csorba said this feels like an unnecessary conflict.
“I was a teenager during Vietnam and saw the withdrawal. And I have friends who are Vietnam vets. It was horrible,” she said.
The conflict is not at that level, according to UNC-Chapel Hill political science professor Navin Bapat.
“It’s a step on the road, but we’re a long ways away, I’d say,” he said.
Bapat said after the US strikes and recent Israeli attacks, Iran is vulnerable, but could still respond.
“Several US bases in the region, which are in reach of Iran, it puts them in place as a potential target for Iran’s retaliation should they choose to use it,” he explained.
Bapat said it is also possible Iran could try to disrupt traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant portion of the world’s oil travels. That could trigger a spike in fuel prices.
“There probably will be something. I don’t see them coming to the negotiation table immediately,” he said.
Coming to the negotiation table is what the president wants, but Bapat said Trump pulling out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal could cause problems.
“It’s going to be hard to convince them to sign again with the Trump administration when it appears that perhaps at any point, you know, the US might change their mind and attack again,” he said.
Bapat said there is a lot of uncertainty about what comes next. He acknowledged the administration’s claims that the strikes caused significant damage to Iran’s nuclear capabilities, but he said that likely stalled the program, maybe for a few years, but did not stop it.
