Why the Left Must Stand with Iran

Anti-imperialism does not consist in simply saying “no” where the U.S. ruling class says “yes.” Rather, it consists in trying to bring the working class forward to deliver blows to U.S. imperialism in defense of Iran and their own class interests. Yet, most left groups limit themselves to demanding “no war on Iran” (Socialist Alternative, Revolutionary Communists of America) or “stop the war” (Party for Socialism and Liberation, Independent Socialist Group). Often enough, these pacifist demands are combined with abstract arguments for class struggle and thunderous denunciations of U.S. empire, which, we are told, needs to be defeated. True enough. But left unsaid is that the way to prepare the defeat of U.S. empire right now is to impress upon workers the need for class struggle to cripple its war effort. But this is possible only if one sides with Iran against U.S.-Israel. Iran is waging a just defensive war against the world’s imperialist hegemon and its Zionist ally.

Those leftists who insist on a “no to war” stance in the name of the broadest possible unity of antiwar forces should take a moment to consider the consequences of the liberal world order’s breakup. Back in the early 2000s when the U.S. invaded Iraq, weekly protests under pacifist slogans brought hundreds of thousands into the streets. Today’s antiwar protests number in the hundreds. This is no accident of history, but a measure of the rightward shift in society. This time around, Democratic politicians and liberal organizations are clearly not on board with making an issue of unprovoked U.S. military aggression. While some might issue condemnations of war, they are not actually looking to do anything about it. Moral righteousness serves little purpose for the U.S. ruling class nowadays. The “no to war” leftists extend their hand, but very few are waiting to accept it. And in the process these leftists prevent themselves from building the unity that really matters.

We all recognize that the working class has a crucial role to play. But to realize that, we must attempt to give shape to growing antiwar anxiety. Yes, the war must be stopped. But the crucial question is how? Just fighting to “stop the war” won’t make it stop. Trump has been relentless in strong-arming other countries or beating them into submission, while wreaking havoc at every opportunity along the way. He has a well-established pattern of pushing on a front to see what he can get away with and then pushing some more, only to pull back once he judges that he has made his point in order to resume his offensive elsewhere.

Opposition to the war must be directed not toward effecting such a pullback, but rather toward debilitating U.S. imperialism in order to halt its offensive and ultimately bring it down altogether. The first of these attitudes is that of liberal pacifists, who condemn all wars under all circumstances and thus leave untouched the supremacy of U.S. imperialism. Democratic politicians might well voice such sentiment if developments reach the point where they judge the war to be detrimental to U.S. imperialism’s overall interests. Socialists must be clear that such opposition diverts working-class anger into safe channels for U.S. empire and cannot possibly stop the war. The only kind of opposition that will make a difference is opposition that aims to do real damage to the standing of the U.S.

The strongest argument to get workers to mobilize against the war is that doing so will advance their own immediate and historic class interests and strengthen their struggles to beat back the attacks of the bosses and the Trump administration at home. But this argument falls apart if one pulls back from forthrightly declaring that workers here have a side against their own oppressors in the war abroad.

A common way to dodge the question is to take a “stand with the Iranian people” but go no further. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are the direct combatants in the war. While the Shia theocracy is plenty murderous and oppressive, it cannot hold a candle to the U.S. oligarchs when it comes to plunder, terror and violence the world over. A U.S.-Israeli victory would be a disaster, not least for the Iranian people. The U.S. and Israel have not gone to war to realize the just democratic aspirations of the Iranian masses. No, the U.S. and Israel have seized on the Islamic Republic’s perceived weakness to eliminate the only significant counterweight to their unchallenged domination of the Middle East. They have severely weakened the Axis of Resistance over the past two years, from pummeling Hamas to decapitating Hezbollah and toppling the Assad regime. The war in Iran should be viewed as an extension of the genocide in Gaza.

The fall of the regime under the present conditions will not bring progress, as should be evident from the state of Iraq and Libya today after U.S. military interventions that eliminated Hussein and Qaddafi. In short, the U.S. and Israel are hell-bent on tearing apart the social fabric of Iran to get their way and solidify their ability to oppress more broadly. It is only by being on the front lines of the struggle to defeat the U.S.-Israeli war effort that socialists in the U.S. can play a role in undermining support for the Iranian regime as an anti-imperialist force. Flowing from all this, there is one unmistakable conclusion: the left must stand with Iran.