The statement of the Central Committee of the Tudeh Party of Iran: The urgency of mobilising public opinion in Iran and the world to thwart another horrific war in the region
The published news in recent days indicate that our nation is on the verge of a very dangerous military conflict with the Trump administration. Following the shooting down of the US surveillance drone on 19 June – a drone that according to the published reports had entered Iran’s air space – news outlets around the world reported that an attack by US military forces against Iran was called off at the last minute on Trump’s orders. Confirming this information, Trump emphasised in an interview with NBC TV station on 22 June, “I am not looking for war, and if there is, it will be obliteration like you’ve never seen before.”
Furthermore, it was reported that, on the orders of Trump, a broad cyber-attack was launched on Thursday 20 June against weapons systems of Iran’s Guards Corps (IRGC) with the purpose of disabling the computer systems controlling IRGC rocket and missile launchers. Furthermore, Trump announced that the US is set to impose further sanctions on Iran, and tweeted on Saturday 22 June, “I never called the strike against Iran ‘Back’, as people are incorrectly reporting. I just stopped it from going forward at this time.”
The escalation of tensions following the attacks on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf and the imperialist media’s accusations that Iran perpetrated the attack, as well as the stance taken at the summit of the Islamic States (held in Saudi Arabia) against Iran, leaves no doubt that the regional reaction led by the medieval regime of Saudi Arabia and the racist government of Israel, along with influential individuals in charge of formulating the foreign policy of the Trump administration, including Mike Pompeo and John Bolton, are preparing the ground to impose a dangerous military conflict on our country and the wider region.
On 22 June, Trump claimed that his goal is to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and that he is willing to talk to Iran’s leaders. When considering this current position of Trump, it is worth noting that it was the Trump administration that through withdrawing from the JCPOA (despite the opposition of the EU states and the governments of Russia and China that were the other signatories of this agreement) and imposing the harshest economic sanctions on Iran to date in order to advance regime change, laid the ground for the current precarious situation in the region.
In recent months, the Tudeh Party of Iran, while warning about the grave danger that threatens peace in the Persian Gulf region, has stressed that the regional disputes must be resolved solely through a reduction in tensions, détente and via negotiations. Clearly, and contrary to all the claims of the leaders of the Iranian regime, the inhumane economic sanctions imposed by the US imperialism have created a very difficult condition in our country for millions of Iranians and pose serious challenges to the economic viability of the regime. The inability of the EU states to create a functional instrument to circumvent the US economic sanctions on Iran and the inability of Iran to sell its oil, with exports reduced from 2.8 million b/day to 700,000 b/day, has exacerbated the current economic hardships that are the result of the regime’s decades-long pursuit of neoliberal policies in favor of the interests of grand capital in Iran.
Obviously, the current situation is unsustainable for long and the leaders of the Iranian regime, knowing that this grim situation cannot be drawn out, are counter threatening the US and Europe that they will fully withdraw from JCPOA, accelerate uranium enrichment, and further inflame the tensions in the region.
Such threats as, “If Iran cannot export oil, naturally it will not just sit and watch while others continue to do so. If we cannot export, then others will not be able to either. The options, choices, and possibilities open to Iran are numerous. It is not just the Strait of Hormuz. There is not only one solution.” (Quoted from Mr. Araqchi, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, in talking to Al-Alam news network about the Europe’s proposed package to save the JCPOA) not only will fail to reduce the tension in the region, but will also provide a pretext to the US imperialism and the reactionary states in the region to pursue their objectives and to intensify imperialist military interventions there. In recent days, the Unites States and its allies have been mulling over dispatching more troops to the region in order to protect the oil pipelines in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf. Such interventionist actions could certainly raise the tensions and lead to sparks that ignite the gunpowder keg that sits in the region.
No progressive nationalist, patriotic, and freedom-loving force can support the resumption of the current tensions nor be in favour of a military strike on Iran. History shows that the working people, both urban and rural, would be the first and foremost victims of any war and military conflict. In addition, the continuation of the current tensions and the development of “wartime conditions” inside Iran would present the ideal opportunity for the regime to intensify suppression and tyranny [as it did before during the devastating Imposed War with neighbouring Iraq].
The Tudeh Party of Iran, like all freedom-loving and patriotic forces of the nation, adamantly opposes the interference of imperialist states and the regional reaction in Iran to orchestrate “regime change”.
Deposing of the despotic regime ruling Iran and establishing a people-oriented and democratic government that would safeguard the freedom and sovereignty of Iran, and end to the current oppression and corruption as well as implement policies that bring about social justice, is possible only through the struggle of the people of Iran and the freedom-loving and patriotic forces of the nation. The events in Iran’s contemporary history, including the 1953 coup, as well as other developments in the region – from the ousting of the nationalist government of Gamal Abdel Nasser in Egypt to the full military-political support for the corrupt, anti-people, and inhumane regime of Saudi Arabia as the closest ally of the United States – all show that the typical favourite regimes of imperialism and its allies are dictatorial and dependent regimes that have nothing to do at all with the wishes and demands of the people of Iran and the patriotic and freedom-loving forces of the nation.
The struggle to reduce tensions and mobilising a strong movement in support of peace in the region and globally, in order to prevent any and all dangerous military conflicts, is an immediate task that must be pursued with full resolve. The warmongers in the US administration as well as the reactionary and anti-people governments in the region, including the theocratic regime in Iran, should not be allowed to once again impose another disastrous war on our region. Let us move forward together hand-in –hand, with the slogan “No to anti-human Sanctions, No to War, and No to Dictatorship”, to pave the way to preserve peace in the region and thus establish favourable conditions to intensify the struggle to dispose of the theocratic regime of Iran.
The Central Committee of the Tudeh Party of Iran
Sunday 23 June 2019
