Tudeh Party of Iran: In support of the Iranian people’s movement for justice, peace, democracy, human and democratic rights, and national sovereignty

(Translated Excerpts from the Editorial of Nameh Mardom, issue no. 1174, published Monday 30 January 2023)

Despite the apparent subsiding of the street protests and uprising in Iran, which took place the slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom”, the profound and important consequences of this revolt can be seen every day in the developments affecting the country, and the regime and its security apparatus cannot turn back the society to what it was before the popular uprising began in September. Today, the Islamic Republic of Iran is facing serious political instability and complete economic deadlock – and, based on its current disfunction, one can be state that it [the regime] no longer has the power it once had in managing the country’s internal and external crises.

Based on plentiful objective evidence, the Tudeh Party of Iran believes that the country is now in a new situation – especially so after the recent mass protests under the central slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom”:

• The theocratic state in Iran is crumbling, and most people now reject the regressive [reactionary] ideology of “Political Islam” and the involvement of religion in the state – identifying it as an obstacle to fundamental and democratic change.
• [Iranian] society has now entered the stage of “ongoing protests” and the regime is in a state of “continual apprehension/fear of the people”. This irreversible action and reaction between the people and the ruling dictatorship will be among the main determining factors of the country’s future course of developments, particularly as there is no significant prospect of even the relative and temporary management of the current deep and multifaceted crises [affecting Iran].
• Powerful Western governments will not severe relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran until there is an “efficient” and “reliable” political alternative to their liking and will not step on the path towards “overthrowing” the IRI regime. The refusal of European countries to support the call for the expulsion of diplomats of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and their refusal to place the entire IRGC on the list of terrorist organisations, underlines this reality.
• A large segment of the world’s informed and progressive public opinion – including popular political forces and civil society organisations whose international support for Iran’s popular movement could have a decisive effect in its favour – have now grasped the anti-people nature of the “Political Islam” ideology and its track record in Iran. Therefore, the Islamic Republic of Iran can no longer beautify its bankrupt and anti-national-interest foreign policy with fake slogans under the banner of combatting “global powers” or even combatting “imperialism”.

Meanwhile, the developments over the past few months have also shed ample light on the realities of the right-wing spectrum of the Iranian opposition:

• Contrary to its misleading and rowdy claims, the right-wing opposition formed around monarchism and a few [high-profile] media personalities has absolutely no credibility nor influence among the protesting people of Iran – particularly the workers, the marginalised, and the national minorities living in Iran – and simply cannot overthrow or replace the theocratic regime. Of course, it should be noted that Western governments, led by the United States, in their dealings with the Islamic Republic of Iran, are using as leverage these damaging and divisive “opposition” elements loyal to Western powers – not least the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (MEK) which is carrying out certain operations/plans [on their behalf].
• The adventurous policies pursued by the most right-wing and belligerent forces in the [Middle East/West Asia] region pose an increasing and fatal threat to our nation.
• The right-wing opposition does not offer a specific socioeconomic development and growth plan in the interests of the majority of the Iranians and working people, nor to protect the national sovereignty of Iran – it cannot claim to be the voice of the country’s working people as it favours the continuation of the neoliberal economic model of capitalism in Iran. The level of “commitment” of this opposition to Iran’s national sovereignty is evident when some of its spokespersons have even sought to justify and support, directly or indirectly, the notion of a military attack on Iran for the purposes of “regime change”.

Another point that needs to be noted is that the position of the monarchists, as well as that of the MEK, in their continual efforts to bring about the interference of imperialists and reactionary countries of the region in Iran’s internal affairs, is not only against the interests of the struggle of the Iranian popular movement against the ruling dictatorship, but also contrary to the national interests as well as efforts to establish a national and democratic republic in Iran. From the campaign to expel the ambassadors of the Iranian government from European countries; the protests in front of the European Parliament in Strasbourg; and the call to include the IRGC on the list of terrorist organisations, these are all examples of the efforts of this right-wing opposition to bring about the involvement of imperialist states in Iran’s domestic [sovereign] affairs. Of course, there is no doubt that the regime’s IRGC and its affiliated forces, such as the Basij militia, have been the main tools of the bloody suppression of the popular movements in Iran over recent decades – and there is no doubt that they have a fundamental role in maintaining the current authoritarian structure in Iran.

We [Tudeh Party of Iran] have always reiterated that without considering the close intertwined relationship between the urgent demands for freedom and justice, and the decisive impact of the working class and other rural and urban working people and their organised participation in the nationwide struggle for a decent life, the current struggle to bring about fundamental national-democratic changes [in Iran] cannot fully succeed.