In Internationalist Solidarity with Iranian Workers Against Imperialist-Zionist Aggression and the Mullah Regime!

The great war against Iran, preparations for which the US-Israel have been conducting for months, began with intensive air strikes carried out on the morning of 28 February. As a result of the missile attacks targeting over twenty cities including Tehran, Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei, along with the Chief of the General Staff and the Commander of the Revolutionary Guards, were killed. Meanwhile, in Iraq, army units are seen to have launched an operation against the Iranian-backed Hashd al-Shaabi forces. In the face of these intensive attacks, Iran is responding not only by launching missile strikes against Israel, but also against other countries in the region hosting US bases, such as the UAE, Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. These developments within the first few hours show that, with the imperialist-Zionist aggression, the entire region has turned into flames.

When the Assad regime in Syria was overthrown, we stated that with the Gaza war, which began after the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023, and the war progressing with the overthrow of the Assad regime in December 2024, the US had moved to the second phase of the Greater Middle East Project.[1] We pointed out that the Israeli-US attacks, which began on 13 June 2025 and lasted 12 days, opened a new chapter in the ongoing Third World War.[2]

Indeed, the fact that the popular revolt that began in Iran at the end of December was far more massive than previous ones and directly targeted the regime, that HTS in Syria under the leadership of Al-Sharaa fully pledging allegiance to the US, and the reconciliation between the Kurds and the HTS, all led to a significant acceleration in preparations for an attack on Iran. A large part of the US navy and air fleet was moved to the region. Meanwhile, time was gained by continuing the charade of negotiations with Iran. Those who completely overlook the reality of the ongoing world war misread the process with claims and expectations that these negotiations would yield peaceful results, that Arab states and Turkey were absolutely opposed to this war, that the US would not risk such a war that would set the entire region ablaze, that Trump did not want this war but was being pushed into it by Israel-Netanyahu, and that the Pentagon was trying to deter Trump because it found the war risky. Meanwhile, the war cabal led by Trump and Netanyahu was busy completing its final preparations. These preparations, moreover, included reinforcing American military bases in all the regional countries that claimed they did not want war. No state, including the Erdoğan regime, adopted a stance of refusing to allow this.

Trump, stating that this operation aims to protect Americans and American interests, tries to legitimise the war by saying, “Our goal is to defend the American people by eliminating the threats of the Iranian regime, which is a brutal group of very tough, terrible people, engaged in activities that directly threaten the US, our troops at bases abroad, and our allies around the world.” On the other hand, there is also an Iranian dimension to this effort at legitimation. Trump, claiming that his only wish is “to provide freedom to the Iranian people,” says “take over your government when we’re finished, it will be yours,” and tells the Iranian people that he is offering them “probably the only chance they will have for generations.”

Of course, these aims, targets and words voiced by Trump have no relation to reality. As we have stated before, the main goal of the US, which wants to make serious progress on the Middle Eastern front of the world war, is to bring an end to the mullah regime in Iran, to redraw the state borders essentially established at the end of World War I according to current power balances, and to form new states aligned with its own axis in the region.[3] The strategy and practice Trump has followed since taking office for the second time show that he will not stop before achieving these goals. Moreover, there is currently no force that can stop him.

Indeed, although statements calling for “an end to the offensive” and “a return to dialogue” come from many countries, including China and Russia, it is clear that these will not go beyond diplomatic statements. The joint statement from Germany, France and Britain, on the other hand, signifies open support for the US. While Iran’s attacks on countries in the region are condemned and a call is made for the resumption of negotiations, no accusation is levelled against the US-Israel. Although not directly participating in the military operation, the position of the European trio in this war is clear.

It is impossible for Iran, which receives no direct military support from China and Russia, to win this war. Moreover, the domestic support for the Mullah regime has plummeted to unprecedented levels. The regime, which continues its repression against the working class, women, Kurds, and various ethnic communities, did not hesitate to massacre tens of thousands of people at the beginning of this year. Therefore, it is the target of popular revolt that has grown larger than ever. For the first time in its history, in the face of a direct military attack, especially from the attacks by the US and Israel, whom it portrays as devils, it is seen that it cannot garner the expected support from the people. Iranians themselves state that a not insignificant segment is in the mood of “let the regime be overthrown first, then...” These feelings of Iranians, who are well aware that the Mullah regime lacks any internal dynamic for reform and see that they do not possess the organised power to overthrow it, are understandable. Let it be noted in passing that assessments and expectations in Iran that the US might settle for a change of personnel, like in Venezuela, rather than regime change, lack any foundation. For the Mullah regime, with its theocratic structure that defines its existence, is a unique regime that, regardless of the names at its helm, has no option but to continue on the path it has entered. Due to this inflexible structure, it is ultimately destined to die. Its stance and the position it has found itself in, faced with the growing popular revolt in recent years, also point to this. The reason the US and Israel have found the courage to undertake an attack of this scale is precisely this irreversible weakness of the Mullah regime.

On the other hand, it is obvious that the real concern of the US and Israel is not the problems of the working people of Iran, the oppression they suffer, the anti-democratic structure of the regime, etc. As seen in countless examples from Afghanistan to Iraq, from Syria to Somalia, the US has never intervened in any country to bring freedom and democracy. Democracy and freedom are the falsest promises used by the US in the imperialist war it has started. Especially when the democracy and freedom record of the fascist Trump administration in its own country is publicly evident. Therefore, the boasts of Trump and Netanyahu about “saving and liberating the Iranian people” have no basis in reality.

It is indisputable that Israel and US imperialism pose a great threat to the entire Middle East, especially Palestine, and furthermore to the whole world. However, any policy that obscures the fact that the ongoing war is an imperialist war and argues that one must “stand with Iran” in this war is not in the interest of the working people. As we stated in the aftermath of the June offensive:

“It is absolutely true that US imperialism represents the aggressive party in the broader imperialist world war – just as together with Israeli Zionism it serves as the offensive side in this specific Israel-Iran front. There is also no question that Israel stands as one of the most reactionary forces in the region and globally, that it is an indispensable ally of US and Western imperialism, and that it strives to destroy the Palestinian people. Consequently, it is of paramount importance that the working class in these most powerful and wealthy imperialist countries makes their own governments and Israel primary targets of struggle. This holds true for countries like Turkey as well. However, this does not mean we must automatically defend Iran against these aggressors. Iran is no “oppressed” or “small” nation, but rather a major regional power pursuing its own imperial policies. If Israel is a reactionary regional power, we cannot forget that Iran too is a reactionary regional force with nuclear capabilities and ballistic missiles. Just as Israel serves as a partner to the US and other Western imperialist powers, Iran functions as a regional partner of major imperialist powers like China and Russia – and this war is fundamentally being waged between these two camps. Moreover, we cannot ignore the fact that Iran’s fascist Mullah regime systematically oppresses Iran’s working class, socialists, progressives, democrats, women, and minority peoples – particularly the Kurds. As Lenin emphasized, from the working-class perspective, it matters little which side “started” the war or who appears as the “aggressor” – we are not bourgeois strategists who view events through their lens, but rather through the interests of the working class.

“From a working-class perspective, it is clear that no stance siding with either Iran or Israel can be justified. The phrase “standing with the Iranian people” may sound positive in distinguishing support from the regime, but it remains ambiguous. Moreover, this approach overlooks the oppressed populations living under the yoke of the Mullah regime’s repression. Our position is this: We stand for the revolutionary struggle of Iran’s working class against Zionist Israel, the Western imperialist powers behind it, and the masters of Iran’s fascist Mullah regime. The heroic Iranian proletariat –which has waged courageous struggles and paid heavy prices– owes nothing to the Mullah regime and shares no common interests with it. The Mullah government, already weakened by mass struggles in recent years and the crushing burden of its imperialist policies, has lost working-class support. Should it exploit this war to rally workers behind it and regain strength, a new wave of devastation would await the working class.”[4]

Therefore, we reiterate once again today that the working people must give not the slightest credence to the lie of the US-Israel about saving and liberating the Iranian people. The destruction caused by the bombs rained down upon the Iranian people and the peoples of the region cannot be hidden behind the façade of “salvation and freedom”. However, in the name of being on the side of the Iranian people, not the slightest support can be given to the Mullah regime either. Iranian working people must rise up to take their destiny into their own hands. The world working class must give them every possible support in their struggle against both US-Israeli imperialism and the Mullah regime.