It is extremely difficult to find much detailed or accurate news, as there is so much propaganda and face-saving measures involved. However, it is certain that a number of bases in all corners of the country, including Natanz, Nojeh Hamedan, Tabriz and Sardasht, as well as several residential areas in Tehran and Kermanshah, were attacked. The exact number of casualties and the extent of damage are still unclear. We are talking about dozens of deaths, including children in Tehran. According to the latest official statistics, 121 people have been killed so far.*
Netanyahu proudly announced the success of the operation. The mainstream media in the West is trying to justify Israel in this blatant aggression: The headlines of the news is Israel's attack on the nuclear facilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran; an attempt to reduce and appease the dimension of aggression. This approach only demonstrates that Israel is the gendarme of the region, which seems to have the right and permission to attack any country it wants and for any reason and excuse; to kill and destroy. Furthermore, attacks on residential areas are justified and made acceptable because it’s aimed at the assassination of military commanders. They call them: “collateral damage!” Over the past thirty years, the US and NATO have killed millions under the guise of collateral damage.
This attack has been talked about for almost three decades and been on the horizon for nearly two years now. An attack on Iran could perhaps be called the final stage in the implementation of the New Middle East project that has been on the agenda for at least the past thirty years. They try to portray this war as Israel against Islamic Republic, but this is not a war between Israel and Islamic regime. It is the war of the US and the West, which Israel is carrying out as a gendarme. This is the true narrative. We must not allow superficial political analysis and propaganda to blind us to the truth. This is a military attack by the US and Israel on the people of Iran. If we change the narrative, we will better understand the depth of this horrific crime and this disaster.
Iran is in a special position. The people’s hatred of the Islamic regime leads some to welcome the US and Israeli attack on Iran, As foreign politicians say, they see a “window of opportunities.” The problem here is that war and bombing do not create opportunities, but a dark scenario. It brings slaughter, displacement and despair. US is exploiting this false narrative to further its aggressive and criminal policies. The right-wing fascist opposition, Iranian nationalists and Kurdish nationalists have embraced America and Israel and have been begging them to start the war. Now their prayers have been answered.
The military attack on Iran must be condemned resolutely. Our struggle against the Islamic regime can only be achieved through a revolutionary and radical movement, not a regime change. Revolutionary overthrow is the response of the working class, the deprived people and the left and freedom-loving forces. Is there anyone in the world who does not know the consequences of American imperialism’s intervention in people’s lives? After all these coups, regime changes, wars and bombings around the world, is there anyone left with any doubt about the nature and consequences of American intervention? In Iran, there have been two coups and one regime change by Britain and America in the past hundred years. And each time countless people died and been tortured, many hopes were dashed; poverty and oppression continued with greater intensity than before. The situations in the region, from Afghanistan and Iraq to Libya and Syria and Palestine and Lebanon, show the dark horizon facing Iranian society.
We must condemn the war and engage in mass organization. We must try to organise people in their workplaces and neighbourhoods. In war conditions, solidarity and cooperation committees are very important. Fear, despair and isolation lead people to surrender and hatred. Strengthening and consolidating solidarity among people play an important role in confronting these conditions. These mass organisations are also the best place to strengthen revolutionary consciousness and adopt appropriate methods to overthrow the Islamic regime. In these conditions, the role of de facto leaders and political-revolutionary activists is decisive. The situation is serious. We must be equipped to confront it.
* At the time of publishing the war has intensified. The number of civilian death in Iran has gone much higher.
⏩Asar Majedi is a Member of Hekmatist Party leadership & Chairperson of Organisation for Women’s Liberation.
No comments