The signatories span a wide ideological spectrum, ranging from former government officials and technocrats to civil rights advocates and academics — a remarkable display of cross-factional unity on an issue that has grown increasingly urgent amid mounting regional tensions and the spectre of potential military confrontation involving Iran.
Among the most prominent figures to have signed the declaration are former First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri and former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, both central figures of the Rouhani-era administration. Also on the list is prominent reformist politician Behzad Nabavi, influential Islamic intellectual Abdolkarim Soroush, and former ICT Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi. The declaration also carries the signatures of sociologists, university professors, and former municipal officials, including ex-Tehran mayor Pirouz Hanachi.
The statement calls on Iranian citizens to raise their voices against war and any military aggression targeting Iran. While the text of the declaration as published by *Etemad* does not specify a particular actor or scenario, it comes at a time of heightened anxiety over the possibility of a US or Israeli military strike on Iranian nuclear and military infrastructure. Regional dynamics have shifted considerably following the fall of the Assad regime in Syria and escalating rhetoric from Washington and Tel Aviv.
The breadth of signatories is politically significant. The list includes figures from across Iran's internal political divide — reformists, pragmatists, and independents — suggesting that opposition to foreign military intervention enjoys near-universal consensus among Iran's engaged civil and political class, regardless of their views on the Islamic Republic's domestic policies.
Among the academics and public intellectuals featured are sociologist Mohammad Fazeli, educational researcher Maghsoud Farasatkhah, and political scientist Hamid Reza Jalaeipour. Civil society figures such as Emadeddin Baghi, a prominent human rights activist, and journalist Mohammad Qouchani also appear on the list. Former diplomats and foreign policy analysts, including Ali Baqeri — who served as Iran's chief nuclear negotiator — and Reza Nasri, add further weight to the declaration.
Etemad published the full list of all 353 signatories, underscoring the statement's significance as a coordinated public act rather than an individual expression of dissent. The newspaper, known for its reformist editorial line, has consistently covered anti-war sentiment within Iranian civil society in recent months.
The declaration is being read by observers as a civil society counterweight to hardline voices within the Iranian establishment that have at times appeared to welcome or downplay the prospect of confrontation. By framing the statement as one of national self-preservation rather than political opposition, the signatories appear to have deliberately crafted a message with the broadest possible appeal — one that transcends factional lines and speaks directly to Iranian public anxieties about the human cost of war.