It was published on June 21 2025
Without opposing and explicitly condemning the Israel-US aggression, no correct and consistent stance can be taken against imperialist war! All workers of the world, socialists, communists and everyone who stands for human rights, has the duty to condemn this violence and aggression. As revolutionary Marxists, while opposing the aggression of the Zionist state of Israel, which is completely immersed in crime and backed actively by US and Western imperialism, we do not support the mullah regime!
With the comprehensive and destructive attacks launched by the Zionist Israeli state against Iran on June 13, the third imperialist world war in the Middle East entered a new phase of madness. Capitalism, which has run its course and historically has no future, is dragging humanity into a real disaster. Our world almost wakes up every day to a new chaos, and each new day is worse than the previous one. It is capitalism that has created a world where:
The arrogance of Israeli Prime Minister, fascist Netanyahu, relying on the power of advanced technological weapons, and the inconsistency and madness of Trump, who sees himself as superior to everyone and wants to kneel the world with oppression, is the madness of imperialist capitalism.
Under the dominance of the bourgeois media, once again, the technical details of the war, not its class dimension, are being highlighted on television screens, in the press, and on social media. The military superiority and successes of Israel, supported by the US and Western imperialism, and Iran’s ballistic and hypersonic missiles that penetrate Israel’s “Iron Dome” are being discussed. However, this war is an imperialist war that worsens the hellish conditions in the Middle East. The working class, its revolutionary and socialist organizations, every honest intellectual, every conscientious and democratic person must base their approach to the war on this reality. For almost a quarter of a century, this imperialist war, which has been growing by incorporating new geographies and countries, is being led by the US-UK-Israel bloc. The Zionist Israeli state, with the limitless support of the US and Western imperialism, is using every kind of war machine, showing no limits in massacres, and turning the entire region into a massive bloodbath. The goal? The goal is to reshape political balances in the Middle East, seize markets, energy reserves, and trade routes. Undoubtedly, many regions –from the Asia-Pacific to the Middle East, from Ukraine to Africa– are part of this imperialist war. The US-UK-led bloc and the Russia-China-led bloc are engaged in a fierce struggle for dominance in every field, trying to outdo each other in the countries they add to the war circle.
The cause of this war lies in the weakening of US imperialist hegemony and the imperialist system being driven into a deep crisis of hegemony. Moreover, this imperialist crisis of hegemony, combined with the impasse of the capitalist system that has reached its historical limits, creates an increasingly complex and unresolved chaotic spiral. The Third World War, which expands by adding countless countries and takes on its own unique forms, is the result of this very crisis of hegemony, despite imperialist powers not directly clashing with each other. After the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, the next front in the Third World War became Iran. It can be said that, alongside Ukraine, Iran is now one of the most critical fronts of the imperialist war. The Iranian front of the war has a dynamite potential that could cause the entire region to explode simultaneously and force the great imperialist powers to intervene. As we previously stated, “The powerful regional dynamics of the war, with each passing day, are increasingly putting pressure on global dynamics, pushing imperialist powers to confront each other directly.”
After the attack on the Twin Towers in New York in 2001, US imperialism declared a “forever war.” Since then, Iran has been one of the main targets of this war. Iraq and Iran were among the countries that the US labeled as part of the “Axis of Evil.” The US-UK-Israel bloc had strategically aimed to weaken all states it saw as a threat, aiming for regime change in these countries. The Greater Middle East Project envisioned the economic and political transformation of the entire region, its restructuring under US hegemony, and the simultaneous guarantee of Israel’s existence and inviolability. Undoubtedly, Iran was the most challenging and significant target for the US-led imperialist bloc. Because Iran is not only the inheritor of a three-thousand-year imperial legacy, but it was also a powerful nation with a large and skilled population, immense energy reserves such as oil and natural gas, and advanced military technology and capabilities.
Iran, which has used the cause of Shiism and the oppressed Palestinian people, was an important capitalist power in the struggle for influence in the Middle East. Through its alliance with Syria, Iran could reach Lebanon and arm Hezbollah. For the Zionist Israeli state, the real danger was not the Arab regimes, which were already US collaborators and controlled in various ways, but Iran, due to its strategic position. Moreover, the anti-Israel and anti-US mullah regime in Iran, due to its position, historical relationships, and vast energy resources, was a natural ally of Russia and China. As the imperialist struggle for hegemony intensified and the division between imperialist powers became clearer, the relationship between Iran and the Russia-China bloc also deepened. In fact, Iran is a member of both the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS. It has extensive agreements with China, including those involving oil and natural gas.
After the US invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, the clear targets were Syria and Iran. However, the anticipated intervention against Iran, which was said to be imminent, was delayed for nearly a quarter of a century. This was because Iran, with more than 60% of its population being Shia, became one of the most significant determining powers in Iraq and thus strengthened its influence in the Middle East. The uninterrupted reach of the mullah regime from Iran to Lebanon and the positioning of its forces near Israel gave it a significant advantage. In fact, the mullah regime thus delayed any potential intervention in Iran. Meanwhile, Iran has developed many missile systems today that have surpassed Israel’s “Iron Dome” and hit important targets, causing significant damage. Its nuclear facilities, like in the case of Fordo, moved underground, deep within mountains. There is no doubt that 20 years ago, Iran would not have been able to respond to Israel at the level it does today.
After a long period, the delayed war has begun. However, the US-UK-Israel bloc has launched an unprecedented destruction to pave the way for war with Iran. On October 7 2023, under the pretext of Hamas’s attack on Zionist Israel, while the Palestinian people in Gaza were being exterminated in front of the world’s eyes, Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon were killed and the organization was dealt a heavy blow. In Syria, the Assad regime was overthrown, and the country was handed over to HTS, the pawn of this bloc. Today, Israeli warplanes take off from Israeli airspace, cross the airspaces of Syria and Iraq, travel 1600 kilometers, and strike Iranian soil without encountering any obstacles. It is quite clear that if the Assad regime in Syria had not fallen on December 7 2024, Israel would not have been able to act as it pleased and could not have struck Iran in such a comprehensive and effective way.
Let us also point out an important issue: The Iran war has once again revealed who the Turkish regime, which fully supports the US-Israel bloc’s efforts to overthrow the Assad regime, is really serving. While the Erdogan regime appears to oppose Israeli aggression, in reality, it serves the US-Israel bloc through NATO, including the Kürecik Radar Base. Ships leaving Turkey continue to transport war materials to Israel. Turkey is both a NATO member and part of the US-Western alliance. Despite this fact, the regime’s spokespeople and the media’s “Turkey is next” propaganda aims to scare the public and rally them behind the regime.
The Israeli state, using every kind of atrocity to clear the obstacles in its way, has finally launched a comprehensive and crippling attack on Iran, which has become an obsessive target. With 200 fighter jets, it targeted Iran, striking countless military and nuclear facilities on the same day and killing over 20 high-ranking commanders, including the chief of staff of the mullah regime, the commander of air and space defense, the commander of the Quds Force, the commander of the revolutionary guards, and several nuclear scientists. Without a doubt, Israel’s goal was to create a sense of shock, horror, and helplessness in the mullah regime and, of course, among the people. Israel also used drones smuggled by Mossad agents to strike missile launch systems and, to further intensify the sense of terror, continued its attacks throughout the day. The mullah regime was effectively paralyzed for more than 12 hours. In the first hours of the war, Israel gained significant psychological superiority. However, when it comes to regional powers like Iran, wars cannot be won with one-time moves that merely create shock and panic on the enemy side. Indeed, when Iran recovered, activated its air defense systems, and more importantly, its ballistic and hypersonic missiles pierced through Israel’s arrogant “Iron Dome” and struck several cities, including Tel Aviv, the situation changed.
From the perspective of revolutionary Marxists, this war is an imperialist and unjust war. However, countless journalists who have sold their soul and pen to the bourgeoisie, instead of highlighting the imperialist nature of the war and condemning the aggression, are particularly praising Israel’s superiority. Of course, there is some sense in comparing Israel and Iran militarily as two bourgeois states. However, on one side, we have Israel, which receives endless support from the West, is deeply integrated into the US military-industrial complex, and develops advanced weapons technologies in conjunction with the Pentagon. On the other side, we have Iran, which has been under severe economic sanctions for decades. Despite this, the mullah regime has managed, at the cost of worsening the exploitation conditions of the working class and condemning workers to deep poverty, to allocate the country’s enormous energy resources to military investment, developing advanced ballistic and hypersonic missile systems. The fascist Netanyahu and government spokespersons believed that Israel was invulnerable thanks to defense systems like the “Iron Dome” or the “David’s Sling,” trusting these systems while engaging in boundless aggression. However, Iran has shown that Israel is not invulnerable, having struck, so far, the oil refinery in Haifa, the scientific research center of the Zionist regime, the Weizmann Institute, the Mossad headquarters, the military complex that includes the Soroka Hospital, and the stock exchange building in Ramat Gan, in the most prestigious part of Tel Aviv.
Of course, behind Israel’s unchecked aggression lies US imperialism. While the debate about whether the Trump administration was aware that Israel would launch the attack is meaningful, it reminds us of the cyclical dilemma of “which came first, the egg or the chicken?” It is unimaginable that Israel could act alone against Iran without a green light and open support from the US administration. Therefore, we must focus on this point: the US-Israel bloc had been preparing for this attack for a long time. Historical examples show that once war preparations reach a certain stage, there is no turning back. The parties within the ruling bloc, even if they have different thoughts and expectations at the time, cannot prevent what is inevitable. As seems to be the case, Trump thought a deal with Iran might be possible and was not inclined to attack at that moment. On the other hand, fascist Netanyahu and certain factions within the US ruling class opposed the deal and advocated for an immediate attack. As we stated in our article about Israel’s attack on Lebanon, the fascist Netanyahu government, which committed crimes against humanity in Gaza, has created conditions in which it could not step back. Ultimately, when this second faction pressed to initiate the attack that had been prepared for years to sabotage any agreement, the Trump administration, clearly wanting to turn this into pressure on Iran, gave the green light for war. The difference does not mean that Trump was against the war or did not want it. What is at stake is a tactical difference, as demonstrated by Trump’s statements when Israel began the attack, paralyzed the mullah regime, and gained psychological superiority internationally, claiming not only that he was fully aware of everything but also using expressions as if he had done all the planning to take credit for any potential success.
The US-Israel bloc has two main objectives: First, to collapse all of Iran’s military and nuclear infrastructure; second, to pave the way for the collapse of the mullah regime by targeting especially the military command structure and killing the key figures who function as the pillars of the regime. Fascist Netanyahu, claiming that he has no problem with the Iranian people and that his goal is to overthrow the dictatorial regime that destroys freedoms, called on the people to rise up against the regime. It is clear that the mullah regime has no legitimacy among the vast majority of the Iranian people. Especially after the killing of Mahsa Amini in September 2022, which led to a revolutionary uprising, the regime’s legitimacy suffered a significant blow. The mullah regime suppressed the revolutionary situation, but the irreconcilable contradiction between Iranian society and the regime became even more pronounced. As an expression of this, in last year’s presidential elections, the voter turnout only reached 50% in the second round. The mullah regime, which has pushed the workers into deep poverty and oppressed the people, is thoroughly corrupt. It is not difficult to understand why Mossad has been able to recruit so many agents. However, it cannot be expected that the Iranian people, bombed with the most modern weapons, would believe that Israel, the same country that has committed genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza, will bring freedom to the country. Currently, the conservative and reformist wings of the ruling class are largely acting together in the face of this attack. Similarly, countless organizations, composed of socialists, trade unions, and workers’ councils, are opposing the Israeli-US imperialist aggression, war and occupation, without giving up the goal of overthrowing the mullah regime.
There is a reality that has been clear from day one and is becoming clearer as time goes by: Israel cannot win the war solely through this method, despite its entire military capacity, its ability to bomb large areas, and the heavy destruction it has caused. Israel has bombed numerous nuclear facilities in Iran and created destruction. However, it has not been able to destroy Iran’s uranium enrichment nuclear facilities. To achieve this, the Fordo nuclear facility, which is placed under 80-90 meters of granite mountains, needs to be destroyed. Only the US’s bunker-buster bombs can reach this target. Furthermore, the destruction of Fordo does not mean that the mullah regime would fall on its own. For this reason, fascist Netanyahu is trying to formally involve the US in the war against Iran by using all possible provocation mechanisms. Both the Israeli government and a certain faction of the US ruling class are pressuring Trump, claiming that Iran could have nuclear weapons (an atomic bomb) within two weeks.
However, Trump is making zigzagging, contradictory statements that confuse the whole world. He says he might declare war on Iran or he might not, and that he himself doesn’t actually know. He tried to pressure the mullah regime by saying that the US could intervene at any moment, attempting to bring them to the negotiating table and impose the agreement he wanted. When that failed, he escalated his threats even further; he declared that they had control over Tehran’s airspace, that he could have religious leader Khamenei killed if he wanted, and that Iran must surrender unconditionally. Despite US National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard stating in March that Iran was not producing nuclear weapons, Trump claims the opposite. In order to further increase pressure on Iran and legitimize direct US intervention, he says that the mullah regime is very close to producing nuclear weapons and that he will never allow that to happen. On the seventh day of the war, he announced that he would give two weeks for diplomacy and talks with Iran before deciding whether to directly involve the US in the conflict.
The reason Trump is flipping so many times is not due to his strategic and tactical brilliance. Trump is under tremendous pressure. A faction of the ruling class and the Trump administration, especially the MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement and the working masses, are against the US going to war with Iran. It is clear that intervention in Iran will not only escalate the reaction from the working masses but will also strengthen the contradictions and conflicts within the US ruling class. Russia and China, who oppose the fall of the mullah regime and the country falling under the control of Western imperialist powers like Syria, are also pressuring Trump.
The rulers of the US and Israel, who are dragging the world into disaster, care not a bit about the suffering of humanity. As seen with Senator Ted Cruz, a significant portion of the US ruling class calling for intervention in Iran is so deeply ignorant and indifferent that they don’t even know how many millions of people live in Iran or understand the country’s religious and sectarian dynamics. It is clear that if the US war machine moves against Iran, the warball that is already engulfing the Middle East will not only continue to grow but the scale of destruction and disaster stretching from Israel to Iran will expand in ways that are already unforeseeable. It is a known fact that Iran-backed Shia groups will target all US military bases across the Middle East. If Iran blocks the Strait of Hormuz and the Houthis in Yemen close the Red Sea to ship traffic, the disruption of oil, natural gas, and international trade flows will deeply impact the global economy. After Syria, Iran being dragged into chaos and the expansion of the war will lead millions of Iranian workers to fall onto migration routes.
The hypocrisy and moral decay of Western imperialist powers are becoming increasingly apparent. While Israel opens a war against Iran and bombs the civilian population, the Western rulers, who say not a word about this aggression and in fact applaud it, immediately recall human rights, the need to protect civilians, and Israel’s right to defend itself when Iranian missiles target Israel. Without shame, in the final communiqué of the G7 summit held in Canada, they stated that “Iran is the main source of regional instability and terrorism” and added: “We confirm Israel’s right to defend itself. We reiterate our support for Israel’s security.” The attempt to legitimize this double standard using the concepts of human rights, democracy, and civilization is completely emptying these terms of their content. As we have seen in Europe and America, the loss of credibility of bourgeois democracy and the hollowing out of these concepts has had a great impact on the tendency of the working masses towards right-wing and fascist movements. Justifying the genocide in Gaza and the aggression against Iran through these concepts is one of the most striking signs that liberal bourgeois democracy has raised the flag of bankruptcy.
As capitalist decay deepens, bourgeois hypocrisy and depravity are similarly boundless. When Iranian missiles hit Israel and caused significant damage, Israeli President Herzog and fascist Netanyahu, without showing the slightest sign of shame, appeared before the cameras and claimed that Iran was targeting civilians and committing war crimes against humanity. This unchecked hypocrisy is enraging conscientious workers around the world and is almost touching the most sensitive nerves. The claim that war crimes against humanity are being committed! Spokespersons of a murderous state, killing Gazans who are merely trying to receive food aid with the most modern weapons, shamelessly talking about human rights. All bourgeois rulers, especially Israeli rulers, are devoid of any moral values. Of course, it will be said that when it comes to bourgeois interests, moral values cannot be discussed. This is true. However, some advanced values, even at a formal level, have become the subject of bourgeois law, established as norms, and have entered international law. However, as capitalist decay deepens, the ruling classes are soaked in crime from top to bottom, destroying all moral boundaries. Western imperialist powers, who boast of being the representatives of democracy and civilization, are leading this hypocrisy and moral decay.
In many parts of the world, from the Middle East to Latin America, people shouted in joy, danced, and played saxophones as Iranian missiles soared through the sky and struck Israel. The reason for this joy is the genocide that Israel has been carrying out in Gaza for two years, broadcast live, relying on defense systems like the “Iron Dome,” ignoring everyone, and becoming a true symbol of arrogance. People are glad to see this balloon of arrogance burst when the Iranian missiles fell on Israel. Unless we set aside a small minority, it cannot be said that the vast majority rejoices in the successes of the mullah regime. As revolutionary Marxists, we understand the reaction behind this joy. However, we must not forget that the liberation of the oppressed Palestinian people and the exploited workers cannot be achieved with the weapons of another bourgeois state. As long as the working class does not organize and begin the struggle against capitalism, sending all bourgeois states to the dustbin of history along with all their weapons, the doors to the real liberation of humanity will not be opened.
It must be emphasized clearly: Without opposing and explicitly condemning the Israel-US aggression, no correct and consistent stance can be taken against imperialist war! All workers of the world, socialists, communists and everyone who stands for human rights, has the duty to condemn this violence and aggression.
As revolutionary Marxists, while opposing the aggression of the Zionist state of Israel, which is completely immersed in crime and backed actively by US and Western imperialism, we do not support the mullah regime! The fascist mullah regime, which has oppressed the workers for over forty years, has rotted thousands of political prisoners, including trade unionists and socialists, in prisons, executed women and young people on the gallows, and oppressed the Kurdish people, can never be defended in the name of anti-imperialism! We stand with the Iranian workers, the working class, women, and youth. We oppose this imperialist war in which both Iranian and Jewish workers are being murdered.
A significant portion of Iranian workers opposes the mullah regime for using Shiism as a tool to conduct a power struggle in the Middle East and allocating the country’s resources to military spending, which is of great importance. Israeli workers must also escalate their struggle against the aggressive policies and expansionist ambitions of the genocidal Zionist rulers, in favor of peace in the region, workers’ unity and the brotherhood of peoples.
The global working class must oppose both the aggression of the US, the UK and Israel, as well as the expansionist policies, military expenditures, and war provocations of all imperialist and capitalist powers, from Russia to China.
The working class of all the peoples of the Middle East must unite, overcoming all obstacles, to stop the imperialist and capitalist powers, led by the US-UK-Israel bloc, which has turned the region into hell, and to stop Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The way to end the imperialist plunder war is through the united struggle of the regional working class, rallying around the goal of the Middle East Workers’ and Labor Soviets Federation. Every step taken on this path is a historical task aimed at saving not only the future of the region but also the future of humanity.
No to Israel-US aggression and imperialist war!
Down with imperialist war!
Workers of the world, unite!
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