A surprise hotbed of support for the recently reached nuclear agreement between Iran and the six world countries has been emerging from the streets of the US capital Washington.
In recent days, reports from Twitter show people have gone to extraordinary lengths to support the historic Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreement, based on which Iran will limit parts of its nuclear energy program in exchange for sanctions relief.
@GabeSehr wrote on the instant social network, which limits tweets to 160 characters: "Someone is tagging DC @bikeshare bikes in favor of the #IranDeal."
The tweet accompanied by a photo purporting to show Washington's bike share scheme with little tags was quickly lapped up by the supporters and detractors of the deal.
Mahsa Payesteh, an Iranian-American on social media site, confirmed reports that the campaign had gone viral and said she too saw the tag on the bikes. The original tweet was retweeted by dozens of others.
Other supporters of the deal have also gone to extreme lengths to garner support for the agreement. New grassroots campaigns for supporting the deal have spread to other large cities with groups like "I choose peace #Irandeal."
Iranian-American groups have also begun their campaigns to attract attention to the deal. One group in Irvine, California, has sent large balloons across the state with the supporting message painted to it.
The campaign has also gathered steam in different countries. One group in the Swiss city of Lausanne has also begun printing t-shirts with the hashtag #Irandeal. The campaign is being supported by a wide array of groups in western countries.
The campaign all leads up to an event the group has created called "Global Day for Peace of Iran" which culminates on August 15. The event will be held in several cities across the US with other countries also extending their support.
The news of increasing espousal of the deal by the general American public follows an official Twitter account called #theirandeal run by Obama administration, which is attempting to counter other voices spreading untruths about the historic deal last month.
Iranian Americans from Silicon Valley have announced their backing by posting, “We are Americans of Iranian descent. Like all Americans, we’re proud of our great country, and we vigorously defend the U.S. ideals of freedom and opportunity,” reads the opening of a letter to the American public focused on the Iran Nuclear Deal.
Shervin Peshivar, brothers Ali and Hadi Partovi and former Twitter COO Ali Roghwani all signed the letter, along with 20 other Iranian-American tech leaders.
“You’d be surprised at how many prominent founders and leaders in Silicon Valley are of Iranian descent,” Ali Partovi told TechCrunch. “The hope is that this letter influences not just Iranian Americans, but other Americans to favor diplomacy.”
The group told TechCrunch this message is “meant as a statement about Iranian people as a population and culture”.
Support may be tipping toward the peace camp in the US with recent news about United Against a Nuclear Iran changing their leadership after the former anti-Iran campaigner surprisingly came out in favor of the deal.
