Dear comrades,

Firstly, please let me take the opportunity to thank the fraternal Communist Party of Greece for their initiative to organise this Teleconference in relation to the very complex and at the same time dangerous situation currently developing in our country and the wider Middle East region.

Dear comrades,

As I am aware that most of the comrades on this call are familiar with the basics and chronology of the current developments, I will move directly to the assessment of the Tudeh Party of Iran…

Once again, while representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States were engaged in diplomatic negotiations and there were clear signs of progress, and optimism that a war could be averted, our country was brutally attacked by the US and Israeli war machines.

We are now in the thirteenth day of this illegal, unjust, and catastrophic war imposed on the people of Iran, with no clear end in sight. Cities and infrastructure across Iran are being attacked by US imperialism and Israel in the absence of any effective air defence.  There are numerous reports of the deliberate targeting for heavy bombardment of cities and civilian sites - including the atrocious killing of around 160 schoolgirls in Minab, southern Iran, by US-fired Tomahawk missiles in a 'double tap' attack. These constitute clear war crimes committed by Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu, the latter already responsible for the perpetration of genocide and war crimes in Gaza.

What is happening in Iran is a brutal and unprovoked act of murderous aggression by US imperialism and the criminal Israeli regime. The bombing of cities, the killing of civilians, and the assassination of the leader of a sovereign country demonstrate the collapse of the so-called rules-based international order; especially when major Western countries, with the exception of Spain, fail to condemn such actions and instead provide indirect assistance, like the UK government.

The world has entered an extremely dangerous era. Under the ultra-right Trump administration, the US is attempting to reverse the decline of its imperialist hegemony, while at the same time Israel is seeking to reconfigure the geopolitical map of the Middle East.  Iran and its people are at the centre of this firestorm, while remaining in the grip of a brutal theocratic dictatorship fighting for its own survival.

Thus, we bear witness to what seems to be the outsourcing of US foreign policy vis-à-vis the Middle East to that of the criminal Netanyahu regime and the waging of a disastrous war in furtherance of the "New Middle East" plan and the region-wide expansion of the "Abraham Accords".  This envisions a permanent regional military and intelligence mechanism- a so-called "Middle Eastern NATO" which would serve to rendersignatory governments wholly pliant and subservient to the interests of Washington and Tel Aviv, as well as devoid of any real agency as regards regional affairs and developments.

In recent comments made to Omani media, the country's Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidistatedthat the "real objective of the war [is to] weaken Iran, reshape the region, and push the normalisation agenda," including efforts "to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state."Albusaidiadded that "there is a broader plan targeting the region, and Iran is not the only target,"and that"many regional actors are aware of this reality",before making clear that Oman would not be joining the "Board of Peace" or normalising relations with Israel and that his country, which had in good faith mediated the negotiations between Iran and the US, demanded an end to the war and a swift return to diplomacy.

The imperative of this criminal military aggression against Iran, aimed at advancing the strategic policies of the far-right US government, is such that even a part of the US' ruling establishment and big capital are willing to weather its negative consequences for the global economy.  They are evidently working to dismantle any prospect of a peace-based stability and coexistence, substituting it with a world order built upon "might is right" and relentlessly pursued through "forever wars".

The large-scale assault on Iran serves as a launchpad for a new phase of US foreign policy, aimed at consolidating its military dominance and asserting Trump’s personal power as the ultimate victor, whatever the cost.

Nevertheless, the primary objective pursued by Trump and Netanyahu in the opening two days of the assault on Iran, namely the killing of the regime's 'Supreme Leader', Ali Khamenei, as a trigger for regime collapse and a popular uprising, has failed.  It proved to be a delusional scheme, as the Iranian people once again refused to walk into the trap laid by these two criminal leaders for "regime change".

One grave consequence for the people of Iran caught-up in this dangerous vortex of war - to add to the many hundreds of deaths, thousands of injuries, and in-quantifiably massive material damage they have already suffered - is the hereditary succession of Mojtaba Khamenei as 'Supreme Leader' to his assassinated father, Ali Khamenei.  The ruling regime continues to lash out and wage its asymmetric campaign merely for the survival of the rule of "Political Islam" in Iran, and the absolute rule of this new hardliner-in-chief and future governance through further brutal repression.  

The dark reality is that all the recent gains of the anti-dictatorship struggle - through the growing coordination and organisation of Iran's re-emerging labour movement and civil society fighting for peace, freedom, and social justice - have suffered a serious setback as a result of this war.

Trump has indicated that, as a possible compromise, he would be willing to tolerate a theocratic leader in Iran and that democracy is not necessary for the country.  Once again, US imperialism is ready to impose a new spiral of despotism on our nation - previously in the form of a brutal monarchy and now through continuation of the theocratic regime - so long as it remains compliant with Trump's authority and fits into the reconfigured geopolitical map of the Middle East.

Tragically, the Iranian people have absolutely no representation or input regarding the prospect of war or the terms of any negotiations.  It is already clear that any attempt to organise a popular movement will be harshly countered and crushed by the regime under the pretext of war and national security. 

Our Party advocates that, at this critical moment for the people of Iran, and given the extremely perilous and devastating situation created by the war, all efforts must be directed toward strengthening national solidarity; preventing chaos and the incitement of ethnic divisions; and organising aid in response to the devastation inflicted through the savage US- Israeli bombardments.

We believe what matters most in the short term is that progressive forces and activists strive to preserve and strengthen Iranian society's hope in the possibility, indeed necessity, of organising the struggle for peace and liberation from the hellish conditions of war, so that the anti-dictatorship struggle for independence, freedom, and justice can be carried forward with renewed vigour and urgency.

We call upon the Communist and Workers Parties to remain steadfastly vigilant and supportive of the popular struggles for peace, sovereignty, and justice - be they waged by the people of Iran or other sovereign countries as they face the peril of foreign intervention and imperialist war.

Thank you.