Anti-imperialism and Tehran

international | anti-war / imperialism | other press Wednesday July 25, 2007 10:51 by Yassamine Mather - Workers Left Unity Iran

This article is based on a speech given by Yassamine Mather of Workers Left Unity Iran at a Marxism 2007 fringe meeting. It explores the position socialists should take in light of both US aggression towards Iran and the Iranian Regimes onslaught against the working class of Iran.

Anti-imperialism and Tehran

Every day the media publish unattributed briefings by US generals and Pentagon sources regarding Iran’s connections to Al Qa’eda, the Taliban and various other terror groups. Most of the media briefings contain no details of substance and many simply repeat previous accusations. However, they are undoubtedly intended to keep tensions ratcheted up, and there is no doubt that the danger of an extension of the current sanctions against Tehran and of limited military action by the US or Israel is very real...

As far the current fiasco in the region is concerned, the Iranian regime is not blameless: it applauded, indeed supported, the overthrow of its long-term enemies, the Taliban and Saddam, and throughout the last four years, since the occupation of Iraq began, it has been a constant ally of successive occupation governments, from Chalabi to Jaffari, to Maleki - many of them in fact products of Iran’s theocratic regime...

We consider ourselves first and foremost anti-imperialist and by definition therefore anti-capitalist. Naturally then, we support the workers’ struggles in Iran against the neoliberal economic policies of its rulers. It is Iran’s anti-government social movements, not the regime, that are in the forefront of the anti-imperialist struggle. It comes as no surprise what so ever that the reactionary capitalists in Iran’s ruling circles are already in negotiations with the US-UK to save their dictatorship.

Full article at link.