The US escalation is a direct result of its failure to assert its exclusive interests in the region and completely destabilise Iran.

In the early hours of January 3rd, the United States of America committed a flagrant war crime and unmistakable act of aggression when it murdered Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Major General Qassem Soleimani. The drone strike that killed General Soleimani also killed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, commander of Iraqi Kata’ib Hezbollah.

Born in 1957, Soleimani joined the recently formed Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in 1979 following the success of the Iranian Revolution. Soleimani rose to prominence during the 8 year Iran-Iraq war as a highly talented commander. The General was instrumental in combating Al Qaeda and Al Nusra, before helping to defeat ISIS in Syria and Iraq, acting as an advisor to the militaries of both nations. The assassination of Iran’s most popular military leader is a mistake that will come back to haunt the imperialists in Washington: millions have gathered in Ahwaz to mourn General Soleimani, and Iran has promised a swift response.

The US escalation is a direct result of its failure to assert its exclusive interests in the region and completely destabilise Iran. It failed to completely kill the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the ‘Iran deal’), and has failed to stop China and Russia from continuing to buy Iranian crude oil. As US dominance wanes, it is intentionally creating chaos to advance its interests. This attack on a sovereign state, a powerful member of the resistance axis is yet another barefaced act of violence, in a region already soaked in blood at the hands of US imperialism.

Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary and soft-bodied invertebrate, Dominic Raab, has stated that the British state is “on the same page” as Washington, and two British warships have been deployed to the region to “protect ships and citizens” - a thinly-veiled overture that covers what is clearly a strategic deployment. Given that British imperialism’s decided course is to align with the US, we can only expect that it will join in with whatever sick violence the US has planned for the region - sick violence that almost certainly includes more war crimes, given that Trump has stated his intent to attack sites of cultural importance in Iran.

This attack and the current sanctions on Iran must be opposed. The desire of US imperialism is, and has long been, to crush the resistance of Iran and return a compliant, comprador class to power. It is the duty of communists and anti-imperialists to halt imperialist wars, as Comrade Lenin wrote: "During a reactionary war a revolutionary class cannot but desire the defeat of its government." (The Defeat of One’s Own Government in the Imperialist War - 1915)

No to imperialist war! Hands off Iran!







