Tudeh Party of Iran, CPUSA say No to Heightening of Tensions and the Drum Roll to War on Iran
Amidst the ongoing tensions between the Trump administration in the United States and the theocratic regime in Iran, the Communist Party USA/CPUSA and the Tudeh Party of Iran have exchanged analyses of these current developments. The two parties sound the alarm about the rapid and dramatic escalation of provocative statements by the U.S. administration in relation to Iran.
The leadership of our two parties, based on their commitment to peace and their support for the fundamental rights of the Iranian working people, have jointly developed the following statement regarding the current situation in the Persian Gulf:
Following the announcement by the United States of the intensification of the inhumane sanctions against Iran, which hurt the ordinary Iranian people most, and the inclusion of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the United States’ list of foreign terrorist organizations, the world has witnessed a very worrying rise in the tensions between the Trump administration and the Islamic Republic of Iran over recent weeks.
A significant U.S. military force, including a strike force based on the U.S. aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, and including U.S. Airforce bombers, has been dispatched to the Persian Gulf. This military mobilization, along with the threatening statements issued by the U.S. administration and its allies in the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Israel, along with the adventurous threats and impulsive statements of the Islamist regime in Iran, such as rhetoric about closing the Strait of Hormuz, have combined to create a situation in which the Persian Gulf and Middle East region now face the threat of a devastating conflict—one which must be avoided!
Following these recent tensions, and in response to the U.S. withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and the subsequent inadequate action of other signatories to this agreement, the Islamic Republic of Iran announced that it would move back from some aspects of its compliance with the terms of the JCPOA.
This rise in tensions cannot be of benefit to the people of Iran, who are involved in their own vital struggle within their country against the ruling theocratic dictatorship. Nor does the prospect of another military adventure serve the interests of the people of the United States; it would be of benefit only to the military-industrial complex and those private corporations whose business is war.
In Iran, the theocratic regime is increasingly faced with wide ranging political-economic crises. The dramatic worsening of the dire economic situation which has pushed millions of Iran’s citizens below the poverty line; severe inflation, widespread bankruptcy within the manufacturing sector, rising unemployment, extensive privatization and other results of rigid adherence to the prescriptions of the international monetary fund, along with corruption and oppression on an unprecedented level, have added up to create an incendiary situation within Iran and have put the economy on the verge of complete collapse. For the leaders of the theocratic regime in Iran, the main objective is to save and preserve the present political order at all costs, and retain their grip on power.
Contrary to the claims of U.S. leaders, such as warmongers like Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Advisor John Bolton, the interventionist policies of the Trump administration is NOT in the interests of the Iranian nation and people: Their sole aim is to secure the undisputed domination of U.S. imperialism and its allies in the region. The intervention of U.S. imperialism and other imperialist states in the Middle East in recent decades has only led to the devastation of the countries affected, and therefore should be resolutely resisted and confronted at all costs. The peace-loving forces of the world must work in unison to promote détente and denounce foreign intervention in Iran’s domestic affairs.
We believe that the future of political developments in Iran must be left to the people of Iran. We call for full respect and strongly believe in the rights of the Iranian people for self determination, to whom we express our solidarity in the struggle for peace, freedom, democracy, and social justice. Only without any foreign intervention, and under peaceful conditions, that the struggle of the Iranian people for a better life and for freedom and social justice and the implementation of fundamental, sustainable and democratic changes—can succeed.
The Tudeh Party of Iran and the Communist Party USA declare our total opposition to any war between our two countries, as we consider such a war to be a threat to world peace and wholly contrary to the interests of the working people of Iran and the United States.
The two parties commit themselves to vigorously campaign for peace and to taking initiatives which mobilize working peoples and labor, mass and peace organizations for an effective mass campaign.
The two parties will work, through all available channels, to defend initiatives that promote peaceful dialogue between the two countries for the resolution of both the immediate and the historic issues between them.
The Tudeh Party of Iran and the Communist Party USA commit to work to advance international solidarity for the struggle of the Iranian people for popular sovereignty, human and democratic rights, democracy and social justice.
Tudeh Party of Iran
Communist Party USA/CPUSA
3 June 2019
