Statement of the Central Committee of Tudeh Party of Iran In defence of peace and national sovereignty

The Tudeh Party of Iran and other progressive forces of the nation, which have been greatly concerned about peace, national sovereignty and the consequences of the mounting sanctions in recent years, are of the belief that this accord would undoubtedly constitute a positive step forward if it were capable of lifting the burden of the devastating pressure of economic sanctions from the shoulders of the working people of Iran, laying the ground for detente and moving the region towards peace and tranquility.

Dear compatriots,
Following weeks of open and secret negotiations between the Iranian regime’s diplomats and the 5+1 states- US, France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China- the Geneva nuclear accord has finally been signed. The leaders of Iran’s theocratic regime are trying to depict this signing as a major victory of diplomacy and as proof of the “legitimacy” of policies that have pushed Iran to the brink of foreign intervention and military conflict and brought devastating economic sanctions that have had a horrendous impact on the lives of tens of millions of Iranians. The US Secretary of State announced in his press conference after the signing of the accord that it has satisfied all of the demands that the 5+1 states had put forward.
The Tudeh Party of Iran and other progressive forces of the nation, which have been greatly concerned about peace, national sovereignty and the consequences of the mounting sanctions in recent years, are of the belief that this accord would undoubtedly constitute a positive step forward if it were capable of lifting the burden of the devastating pressure of economic sanctions from the shoulders of the working people of Iran, laying the ground for detente and moving the region towards peace and tranquility.
Our nation knows well that in addition to the interventionist policies of imperialism, the theocratic regime and Khamenei himself, who adopted unwise and damaging policies, bear the prime responsibility for creating a situation that has been disastrous for our nation and the region.
The fact remains that Ali Khamenei, as the Supreme Leader, is primarily responsible for wasting tens of billions of dollars of the country’s wealth by pursuing in advancing adventurous policies. The truth is that the nuclear programme of Iran not only has had no economic output, but has also resulted in immense economic loss and has put the national security of Iran at risk.
It is a proven fact that the regime’s delegation, headed by the Foreign Minister, entered into the Geneva negotiations from an inferior and vulnerable position.  The resultant accord should be assessed with this in mind. It should be noted that the reaching of an agreement with the West and the ending of the devastating sanctions which were driving the society towards social and economic collapse, were of paramount importance to the regime’s leadership- as was stated by Tudeh Party of Iran immediately after the election of Rouhani. Therefore, thinking that this “heroic flexibility”, or rather “heroic compromise”, was initiated by the Foreign Minister and the government of Rouhani without the green light from the leadership of the regime, would be a delusion.
That was why, immediately after signing the agreement, Mr. Rouhani wrote to the Supreme Leader stating that “the nuclear accord was the result of God’s grace, the Leader’s guidance and the support of the nation.” It is ironic that the “representative of God on earth” in his message of congratulation told the President of the regime that “God’s graciousness and prayers were the causes of the nuclear success”.
What is clear from the limited information released about the accord is that the published content of the Nov 24 accord concedes only very limited gains to our country, in no way satisfies the conditions of a real “win-win” agreement and fails to guarantee the legitimate rights and national sovereignty of Iran. Taking advantage of the significantly weak position of the Iranian regime, the Western 5+1 states have been able to place our country in a very tight corner and achieve all of their key demands related to the nuclear dossier and the foreign policy of the Iranian regime, in return for agreeing to a very few of Iran’s demands, some to come into effect immediately and the majority promised “in the future”. Already, the Western 5+1 states are with ease directing the regime’s leaders towards their desired political and economic policies by manoeuvring around sanctions, and will keep doing this to a greater extent in the future. It is a bitter historic reality that the leaders of the theocratic regime in Iran led the glorious popular, national and anti-imperialist revolution of 1979 to failure as a result of their reactionary policies. In the past ten years, they have advanced their adventurous policies, under the guise of “the indisputable nuclear right”, but have in reality deprived Iran of its genuine and undeniable rights. Now, after conducting secret and undisclosed bilateral negotiations with the US, these leaders of the regime are participating with a begging bowl in their hand in an unequal negotiation, and are then congratulating each other too!
Here basic questions are raised: Why did the theocratic regime not change its imprudent and adventurous nuclear policy sooner and why did it even intensify it during the imposed (unelected) government of Ahmadinejad and ban any discussion and criticism of it on the pretext of security? We believe that the answer lies in the historical roots of this damaging policy, which imposed a type of cold war on the nation based on the slogan of “the undisputable nuclear right”, by comparison with the previous policy of continuing the hot war with the “war, war, until victory” slogan after liberating occupied Khorramshahr (in the Spring of 1982) and driving the aggressor army of Iraq out of the country. At that time, while a cease fire in the Iran-Iraq was achievable around 1981-82 and Saudi Arabia was willing to compensate Iran for war damages inflicted, the likes of Khamenei and Rafsanjani declared, on the orders of Khomeini, the anti-national policy of continuing the war until Quds (Jerusalem) was liberated. The policy of continuing the war in turn prepared the ground for the full and monopolized establishment of “political Islam” for the purpose of suppressing and crushing the national and progressive forces, including the Tudeh Party of Iran, at the same time as any voice opposed to the continuation of the war being suppressed. Six years later, faced with the reality of a complete failure of the regime’s war policies and after suffering from immense material damages and human losses, Khomeini drank from the poisoned chalice and was forced to accept UN ceasefire Resolution 598. It is a fact that the leaders of the regime have taken advantage of both of these policies solely to strengthen the foundation of the ruling dictatorship and to preserve its continuation.  If historically the continuation of the war and the drinking from the poisoned chalice of truce depended ultimately on the role and orders of Khomeini, after three decades, when the strategic policies of the regime have completely failed, now once again the rule of the Supreme Leader can be seen in Khamenei’s “heroic flexibility”. Those who deny the existence of dictatorship and the functioning of an anti-national regime cannot deny that, in both cases, the ruling reaction has governed through suppression, killing, and squandering national resources, and continues to do so.
Dear compatriots,
The truth is that under the current concrete circumstances, the theocratic regime has been forced largely to back off from its position in order to save itself from an international crisis that has threatened its very survival. The Geneva accord subjects the easing, and eventually complete lifting, of imposed sanctions and restrictions against Iran to the close monitoring of the regime’s conduct and an evaluation of it after a six-month period. In fact, the main imperialist powers- US, Britain, France and Germany- could use continued and intensified sanctions to gain an upper hand which might easily be utilized against our national interests. Those who underrate the crucial principle of “national sovereignty” and claim that there is no phenomenon such as imperialism would usher our people to dystopia.  The consequences of the submissive signed agreement in Geneva should be evaluated taking into account the mono-product [oil] and fully import-dependent economy of the country and the logical consequences of the adopted path for working people. The main orientation of the government installed by the theocratic regime, is towards “free market” economic programmes in line with a model that will produce maximum influence and profit for the domestic and foreign big bourgeoisie and grand capitals. It can be stated emphatically that social justice has no place in the agenda of the administration of Hassan Rouhani. Also, the future of freedom and democracy will be uncertain under conditions in which the right of national sovereignty in respect of macro-economic decisions is tied to and dependent on the logic of market and the power of private corporations and powerful capitalist states. The Tudeh Party of Iran believes that so long as the pivotal role of the absolute Supreme Leadership regime remains in play, there will be no real change in the status of democracy and social justice and, as our party has repeatedly warned during recent years, the theocratic dictatorship will eventually put national sovereignty at risk in order to safeguard its very existence and survival.
Our party, alongside the Iranian people and other progressive forces, will make every effort possible to transform the Geneva accord of 24 November into a block on the adventurous foreign policies of the theocratic regime and force the retreat of fierce warmongering forces. We believe that the struggle of the progressive and national forces to move past the theocratic regime, which hinges on three fundamental and intertwined principles, the right of national sovereignty, democracy and social justice, should be organized as widely as possible, through the united action of all national and democratic forces and with every effort to organize the people.

The Central Committee of Tudeh Party of Iran
November 24th, 2013