'No War With Iran' Rallies Planned In San Diego County

SAN DIEGO — Demonstrators are expected to take to the streets in San Diego County Thursday evening to rally against the possibility of the U.S. entering into a war with Iran.

Anti-war rallies are scheduled at 5 p.m. in Escondido, La Jolla and San Diego.

The protests come days after the U.S. airstrike on Iran and killing of Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani. In retaliation, Iran attacked two U.S. military bases in Iraq.

"We are protesting against this administration's movement and just hit the streets, because we just cannot sit at home and do nothing," said Kyoko Takayama, a local activist and rally organizer.

Liberal advocacy groups MoveOn and Indivisible are behind the anti-war demonstrations in San Diego County and across the country. As of Thursday morning, 356 protests had been organized, according to Nowarwithiran.org.

"Trump's reckless action has needlessly endangered countless lives of U.S. troops, Iraqis, Iranians, and countless other civilians," organizers wrote. "The devastation that a war with Iran could bring upon the earth and humanity cannot be overstated — millions of lives hang in the balance."

In the San Diego region, demonstrators are planning to meet at 5 p.m. at the following locations:

• Escondido: Corner of Valley Parkway and Escondido Boulevard
• La Jolla: UCSD campus at Torrey Pines and La Jolla Village Drive
• San Diego: Chili's and Starbucks parking lot by Interstate 8 and Mission Gorge Road

Courtney Teague/Patch contributed to this report.