Scapegoating Iran

Seventeen years of war in the Middle East and what do we have to show for it? Iraq after our 2003 invasion and occupation is no longer a unified country. Its once modern infrastructure is largely destroyed, and the nation has fractured into warring enclaves. We have lost the war in Afghanistan. The Taliban is …

Trump Pulls United States Out of Iran Nuclear Deal

Medea Benjamin talking: President Trump is allying with a very narrow—very, very narrow sliver of countries. And that is basically Israel and Saudi Arabia. He is talking about Iran as the spreader of terrorism in the Middle East. But look at who has been the basis of the—ISIS and al-Qaeda: has been Saudi Arabia, not …

Trump Aides Hired Israeli Firm for “Dirty Ops” Targeting Supporters of Iran Nuke Deal

The Observer newspaper of London has revealed President Trump’s aides hired an Israeli private intelligence agency to orchestrate a “dirty ops” campaign against members of the Obama administration who negotiated the Iran nuclear deal. The agency was asked to dig into the personal lives and political careers of several Obama officials—and their wives—as part of …

Are Israel & Saudi Arabia Pressuring U.S. Toward War with Iran?

Trump and Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s position on Iran. Trump has long vowed to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, and just before Salman’s visit, the Saudi foreign minister called the 2015 deal a, quote, “flawed agreement.” In his 60 Minutes interview, MBS, as the crown prince is called, repeatedly criticized Iran. Mehdi Hasan talking: …

The struggle against imperialism and for workers’ power in Iran—Part 3

The Islamic Republic and Imperialism Mazaheri takes great exception to our insistence that Iran’s foreign policy is not anti-imperialist. Tehran, in keeping with the class nature of the Islamic Republic, pursues a nationalist foreign policy, directed at expanding the strategic influence and wealth of the Iranian bourgeoisie and, in particular, at realizing its regional-power ambitions. …

The struggle against imperialism and for workers’ power in Iran—Part 2

The Tudeh Party and the Class Dynamics of the Iranian Revolution As noted above, Mazaheri, in his second blog, makes no mention of the Stalinist Tudeh Party, although previously he had mocked our contention that Iran has a long, secular socialist tradition and that the Tudeh Party had deep roots in the working class. Detailed …

The struggle against imperialism and for workers’ power in Iran—Part 1

The protests that erupted in Iran at the end of 2017, and rapidly spread to 85 cities and towns across the country, mark a new stage in the development of the class struggle in the Islamic Republic. Defying state repression, tens of thousands of unemployed youth and impoverished workers took to the streets to oppose …

Trump’s Iran war

Fifteen years ago this week, Colin Powell, then the secretary of state, spoke at the United Nations to sell pre-emptive war with Iraq. As his chief of staff, I helped Secretary Powell paint a clear picture that war was the only choice, that when “we confront a regime that harbors ambitions for regional domination, hides …

Using the military to gain more votes

growing threat of war against Iran. In recent weeks, senior members of the Trump administration have repeatedly tried to churn up U.S. support for a war against Iran, while President Trump has reiterated his threats to pull the U.S. out of the landmark 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Last month, President Trump issued a waiver to …

Trump Tweets “Time for Change” While Backing Dictators Worldwide

President Trump’s foreign policy in Iran, where at least 22 people are dead and hundreds have been arrested, as authorities used tear gas and water cannons to quell the largest anti-government protest since 2009. The protests, which began last week and quickly spread to cities across Iran, are targeting the country’s high unemployment, income inequality …