Our response to military intervention in Iran

Conscience is deeply alarmed by the ongoing US and Israeli military attacks on Iran. Airstrikes on major cities and threats of further escalation risk igniting a catastrophic regional war with devastating human consequences.

Recent history shows us where this path leads. Military intervention in the Middle East has repeatedly brought mass displacement, immense civilian suffering, regional instability and long-term insecurity. Bombs do not create peace. They deepen cycles of violence and entrench grievance.

Diplomacy, not devastation, must be the priority. Reports that negotiations were underway make the turn to large-scale military force even more reckless. Escalation now risks drawing in neighbouring states and expanding conflict across an already fragile region.

For Conscience, this crisis underlines a fundamental truth: war is not only fought on battlefields — it is funded through taxation. Military action on this scale is made possible by billions in public money directed towards weapons systems, military bases and armed intervention rather than towards diplomacy, humanitarian relief, climate action, health or education.

Our mission is to build a world where taxes nurture peace, not war. We uphold the right to conscientious objection to military taxation because individuals should not be compelled to finance destruction and bloodshed.

We call on the UK government to refuse any participation in or facilitation of this escalation, including the use of British bases for military operations. Britain must advocate for immediate de-escalation and renewed diplomacy.

At moments like this, the question becomes stark: what kind of world are our taxes building?

Conscience will continue working for a peace-based alternative — one in which public money supports life, justice and international cooperation, not war.