The Party for Socialism and Liberation condemns, in the strongest possible terms, President Trump’s illegal withdrawal of the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the Iran nuclear deal signed in 2015. We consider this move to be a dangerous step towards the escalation of U.S. hostility towards Iran and of its war-mongering interventionist policies in the Middle East.

Reminiscent of the Bush administration’s “mushroom cloud on Washington D.C.” scare tactic in 2003, Trump ridiculously claimed: “We will not allow American cities to be threatened with destruction.” In complete violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, to which the United States is signatory, the United States is embarking upon a nuclear modernization program, with an estimated cost of $1.2 trillion.

Outrageously, Trump attempts to portray Iran, which has no nuclear weapons at all, to be a threat to peace and on the verge of attacking U.S. cities. The greatest danger to humanity today is Washington, D.C., under the leadership of a band of corrupt elements, headed by Trump – a racist, sexist, bigoted billionaire who finds his deepest roots of support among alt-right white supremacists. The governments of the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia are now partnering in a synchronized set of actions designed to set the stage for military aggression against Iran.

As the danger from Trump and his cabinet becomes more and more evident to the people, the PSL is joining with people across the country to build a grassroots movement, independent of both imperialist parties, to resist this criminal gang that brings nothing to the United States and the rest of the world but war, racism and misery.

When targeting independent countries for regime-change, various U.S. administrations pretend to speak for the international community, often creating the false appearance that the targeted country is isolated and condemned by the world. Today, the international community, however it is defined, is uniformly opposed to the May 8 Trump decision. Support for the U.S. pullout of the JCPOA is limited to Apartheid Israel and arch-reactionary Persian Gulf states. Even European imperialist powers have expressed strong opposition to Trump’s withdrawal.

The PSL upholds the right of self-determination for Iran, and all other nations oppressed by imperialism. Ever since the 1979 revolution of Iran, the United States has wanted nothing more than returning Iran to its neo-colonial status. Trump promises to help the Iranian people to go back to “an Iran that prospered in peace with its neighbors and commanded the admiration of the world.” That pre-revolution Iran that Trump talks about was declared by Amnesty International to have “the worst human rights record on the planet” but served up Iran’s resources to big oil companies. Different factions of the U.S. ruling class may have disagreements on tactics, but they all want that Iran back – a country that was effectively run by Washington through its client, the Shah.