French article

Outline of the key positions of the International Alliance in Support of Workers in Iran (IASWI) concerning the current catastrophic situation in the Middle East:

We oppose war and militarization in the region. We believe that a more robust universal condemnation of the war on Gaza and the genocide of the Palestinian people by the Israeli regime is essential.

While we acknowledge that the killing of hundreds of Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023 by Hamas and Islamic Jihad was rightly condemned by numerous labour and progressive organizations around the world, it is important to remember that the violent occupation of Palestine by Israel and the struggles of Palestinian people against an occupier regime did not commence in October 2023. Over seventy-five years of brutal occupation and implementation of apartheid policies against the Palestinian people, characterized by the forceful appropriation of their lands and livelihoods by the Israeli regime, supported fully by the US, UK, and other Western governments, underpin this unjust and catastrophic reality. Therefore, achieving a lasting and sustainable ceasefire that ensures the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the Palestinian right to self-determination is the utmost priority.

It is unequivocal that the United States, along with its current president and vice president, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, bear direct responsibility and accountability for the Killing of about 50,000 Palestinians by the Israeli apartheid regime. They must be prosecuted as the sponsors of the ongoing genocide.

In addition to the U.S. administration, several European and North American governments, including England, Germany, France, Italy, and Canada, are complicit in the killings of the people of Palestine and now Lebanon due to their support for Israel's war against the people of Gaza, including by supplying weapons to this regime. The leaders of these governments should be tried in the international court.

All ruling regimes in the Middle East are characterized by authoritarianism, repression, and reactionary policies and practices. Contrary to claims made in the West, Israel is not a democracy but an occupying regime. The settler colonial apartheid state of Israel was established by the Zionists with the full support of the British and subsequently the American governments, resulting in wars, the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, and the appropriation of their lands.

The tragic events of the past 12 months have clearly demonstrated that the entire world is struggling with the lack of democratic governance systems. The United States is considered one of the least democratic countries worldwide, marked by the predominance of two major political parties that largely cater to the interests of various capitalist, militaristic, and interventionist groups, as well as wealthy individuals. Notably, it is the only regime that has utilized atomic bombs, leading to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.

The Islamic Republic of Iran is a capitalist regime characterized by its anti-worker and misogynistic policies. It has persecuted, imprisoned, killed, and exiled hundreds of thousands of labour, socialist, communist, feminist, and social justice advocates. In Iran, approximately two-thirds of the population lives below the poverty line, while a small affluent minority holds a significant share of the nation's wealth and resources. The regime is deeply entrenched in widespread corruption. The severe repression, injustice, and widespread poverty experienced over the past 45 years has resulted in public dissatisfaction and evident animosity of people towards the regime. This regime fundamentally persists in governing through outright violence and repression. It is important to acknowledge that we all witnessed instances of this animosity and discontent among the population, as well as the regime's bloody response during the "Woman, Life, Freedom" uprising and the preceding mass protests over the last decade.

The opposition to the IRI is distinctly diverse, divided, and often hostile toward one another. On one side, we have the monarchists who primarily support Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran's former king, who was overthrown during the 1979 revolution. They have increasingly revealed their true identity as ultra-Persian nationalists and far-right on the economic, political, and social issues confronting the country. They endorse a military strike on Iran and provide explicit support for the Israeli regime, especially the administration led by Netanyahu. They advocate for the most extreme fascist ideologies and policies. They lack support within Iranian progressive movements, especially among the working class, women's rights groups, student activists, and non-Persian ethnic communities that are advocating for their rights and self-determination. However, they have a questionable but relatively strong online presence.

Monarchists and certain other right wing groups are mainly relying on Israel and its primary ally, the United States, to initiate direct military action and war with Iran. We categorically condemn these abhorrent and inhumane methods and practices employed by the ultra-right-wing and the pro-war groups.

The independent Iranian labour movement, including teachers' organizations, along with the majority of leftist, socialist and feminist groups and social justice activists in Iran, oppose wars and the militarization of the region. While supporting the rights and liberation of the Palestinian people, they are pursuing justice and freedom in Iran. They have played a crucial role in the advancement of socioeconomic justice movements in the country over the past two decades. They firmly support class autonomy and independent grassroots organizing, free from any kind of reliance on foreign governments or imperialist interventions.

As an anti-capitalist campaign supporting the workers' movement in Iran, IASWI adopts an anti-oppressive and internationalist perspective in its initiatives. We assert that no progressive Iranian group, whether situated in Iran or in exile, should, under any circumstances, overlook the genocide of Palestinians occurring in Gaza. We have an ethical responsibility to confront these atrocities.

We were established to promote awareness of and address the systemic and violent oppression of workers, women, students, and other individuals seeking equity and justice, primarily in Iran. We simultaneously uphold the principle that "an injury to one is an injury to all" and acknowledge the essentiality of international solidarity among the working class and oppressed peoples worldwide. While we bear the responsibility to organize within our respective countries, it is essential to prioritize the interests of the entire working class and humanity as a whole.

The left, both internationally and in the West, is not a homogeneous entity. Over the years, we have observed and sincerely valued and appreciated the international solidarity demonstrated by labour and leftist organizations worldwide, including in the West, in support of the working class, women's rights, and other individuals advocating for justice in Iran. However, our observations also indicate that numerous leftist groups and activists in the West have largely remained silent or indifferent to the repression experienced by workers, women, and other oppressed communities in Iran. This may be due to different political considerations, such as avoiding strengthening the U.S. Policies toward Iran. While this may simplify the issue, it is important to underscore that in our opposition to US imperialism, the expression "the enemy of my enemy" does not necessarily imply "my friend." This is particularly true within the context of international solidarity among oppressed populations globally who are combating various forms of exploitation and oppression related to class, gender, race, and other factors.

Without seeking to dramatize this issue, we have come to understand that the extent and intensity of oppression faced by the Iranian working class, women, and ethnic minorities for over four decades is difficult for many in the West to comprehend. We continue to observe an absence of response and, at times, a double standard by our comrades in the West regarding the oppression of workers, women, LGBTQ+ communities, and the violent suppression of socialists and communists in Iran. As Iranians, each individual Iranian labour and socialist activist with whom we have collaborated over the years has faced persecution and imprisonment, and many have lost close relatives and friends as a result of the actions of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The IRI operates concurrently as an anti-worker capitalist state and as a reactionary, repressive, and misogynistic religious regime. It is also a regional power, and its claims, assertions and discourse do not embody anything progressive or anti-imperialist. In alignment with our unequivocal opposition to any imperialist wars, should a U.S.-led military intervention or conflict arise against Iran, we must categorically oppose the war while prioritizing our solidarity with the people of Iran, as well as with the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples, alongside all other oppressed groups throughout the region, rather than endorsing the Iranian regime or any other regimes.

To recapitulate:

The International Alliance Support of Workers in Iran views itself as a small part of the labour and anti-capitalist movements in the country. We aim to build and strengthen international working-class solidarity with the workers' movement in Iran as they confront the entire capitalist regime in our country, while striving for a genuine and lasting peace based on freedom, equality, social and economic justice, the abolition of capitalism, colonialism and imperialism, as well as all forms of exploitation and oppression. We aspire for a free, secular, and socialist Iran.

IASWI strongly condemns the militaristic policies of all capitalist and imperialist states. IASWI firmly condemns the genocidal actions of the United States, Israel, and their allies in Gaza and Lebanon. We firmly oppose any threat of military intervention and war against Iran. We support the Palestinian people's rights, freedom and self-determination.

IASWI has consistently opposed economic sanctions against Iran over the years. These sanctions have resulted in a heightened prevalence of poverty, destitution, corruption, and the misappropriation of public funds and resources by those in positions of authority, along with widespread unemployment throughout the country. As a result of this policy, there has been a significant increase in the prices of goods, a shortage of essential food and health-related items, and a rise in unemployment. The economic sanctions chiefly impose further hardships on the working class and impoverished people in Iran, rather than substantially impacting the regime of the Islamic Republic. These economic sanctions and threats of war are inhumane instruments employed by global superpowers, notably the United States, against the workers and marginalized populations in Iran. Meanwhile the Islamic Republic has continued to use economic sanctions and the threat of war as a justification to further suppress workers, labour activists and marginalized people in Iran, thereby exacerbating fear and intimidation across the country.

At this pivotal juncture, we give priority to and support the following:

1- Supporting anti-war movements with "No to War" and "Stop All Imperialist Wars in the Middle East" as some of the key slogans.

10- Promote global solidarity with workers and independent labour organizations in Iran to strengthen worker-to-worker solidarity, as part of the world-wide struggle against the capitalist classes, governments and their neoliberal agenda.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DBL1xOvuaFC/?igsh=MWIwaWM1MWo1a2RyYg==