The Communists Condemn the Imperialist Attack on the Iranian People

American and Israeli missiles are once again raining down on the Iranian people, and the Iranian government has already responded with attacks on American bases in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain. The contradictions in the region are becoming ever sharper, and the US-Israeli attacks are a dangerous step in an escalating spiral of military confrontation that threatens to plunge the entire region into a large-scale war. This is a frightening development, particularly for the Iranian people and for the working people throughout the region, who will inevitably be caught between the warring blocs fighting for supremacy and power in the area. 

The Middle East has long constituted a crossroads where imperialist interests have clashed, which in recent decades has exacted a heavy toll on the peoples of Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, who have paid dearly in blood. The Middle East contains not only natural resources, but also geostrategic strongholds, extremely important transport routes, and other assets that attract international and regional actors seeking to strengthen their positions in the region. 

This is also what the latest attack on Iran represents: Israel and the United States striking at their competitors, just as they have already done in, among other places, Syria and Iraq. In the same way, Iran has sought, and continues to seek, to expand its own influence, including by sponsoring paramilitaries and rebels in various parts of the region. 

For the people, this means nothing but suffering, and choosing one actor over the other is choosing the plague over cholera. Israeli and American bombs fall on behalf of their respective countries’ capital, and the Iranian response is made on behalf of Iranian capital. The people are stuck in the middle, and in the struggle between capitals, workers are forced to kill workers. 

Swedish politicians from both the government and the so-called opposition call, with barely concealed enthusiasm, for “restraint,” while unilaterally placing the blame on the Iranian regime and in practice aligning themselves with the line of the United States and Israel. This hypocrisy is telling. The same forces that speak of international law and peace when it suits their geopolitical interests fall silent or relativize matters when their allies violate those same principles. 

The Communist Party of Sweden rejects this one-sided propaganda. We condemn all imperialist aggression and every act that drives the region closer to a major war. We categorically condemn every attack on another country’s people. The bombs now falling over Tehran and other Iranian cities are a crime against the Iranian people, just as the bullets of the Iranian military, which earlier this year killed thousands of demonstrators, were also a crime against that same people. 

The Communists refuse to choose the lesser of two evils, and we refuse to defend the governments of capital, in whatever form they may appear. At the same time, we condemn every attempt by one country to impose its will on another, which only sharpens contradictions and increases the risk of a generalized war. 

Instead, we emphasize that only the people of each country have the right to determine their own path forward. This path must be characterized by independence from every imperialist power. Only through international solidarity, struggle against imperialism, and opposition to the war policies of their own ruling classes can the people achieve a real and lasting peace. 

It is high time to raise our voices against the warmongering. Sweden must not contribute to military escalation, arms exports, or political support for imperialist adventures. We stand in solidarity with the Iranian people and condemn every attempt to impose upon them an order that would only push them deeper into the abyss of exploitation.

The Communist Party of Sweden