{"id":3550,"date":"2020-01-14T15:00:42","date_gmt":"2020-01-14T15:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hopoi.org\/?p=3550"},"modified":"2020-01-14T15:00:42","modified_gmt":"2020-01-14T15:00:42","slug":"statement-on-the-us-iran-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hopoi.org\/?p=3550","title":{"rendered":"Statement on the US-Iran crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t\n

Trump\u2019s reckless drone assassination has actually strengthened the reactionary Islamic Republic in Tehran, states Hands Off the People of Iran. <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nHands Off\nthe People of Iran unequivocally condemns the United States\nassassination on January 3 of the commander-in-chief of Iran\u2019s\nRevolutionary Guards, Qassem Soleimani – the culmination of the\nlatest bout of sabre-rattling between the two countries. It is not\nenough, however, to simply denounce Trump\u2019s perilous manoeuvres in\nthis volatile region. We must understand the underlying political\ndynamics of the face-off between two mismatched reactionary regimes –\nthe US world hegemon and the Islamic State of Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nIn\ntruth, the killing of Soleimani – and Trump\u2019s subsequent\nthreat to bomb 52 targets in Iran – was a\ngodsend for the rulers of the Islamic Republic. After the\ntargeted strike, a mood of patriotism grew in Iran and rival factions\nwithin the government converged in the face of external threat. Even\nsome outright opponents of the regime have rallied to \u2018defend the\nnation\u2019. More worryingly, the mood of\ncross-class outrage against the American attack will have a dampening\neffect on workers\u2019 struggle against the regime\u2019s neoliberal\ndomestic economic policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nAccording\nto Trump, he ordered the killing to prevent more wars in the region.\nIn stark contrast, most of the world\u2019s media predict an escalation\nof tension and military conflict as a result. Beyond\nIran\u2019s borders, Trump\u2019s foolish raid has been a spectacular\nfailure, strengthening Iran\u2019s position in Iraq and Lebanon. In the\nrecent past, citizens of Shia Iraqi cities were setting fire to\nIranian consulates; the demand for Iran to keep its hands off Iraq\nhad been one of the main slogans of protestors in Baghdad and\nelsewhere. Last week Shia Iraqis were chanting the slogan often heard\nin Iran\u2019s Islamic Republic: \u201cDeath to America\u201d. Similar\nsentiments have been expressed in Lebanon, where Christian Maronite\nand Druze politicians are echoing Hezbollah\u2019s claims that it was\nSoleimani who saved the country from Islamic State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopi likewise condemns the \u2018revenge\u2019 exacted by the Iranian regime, which in any case was deliberately ineffectual – Iran having informed both Norway and Iraq, if not the US directly, that missiles were incoming. The effective state of war on both sides and likelihood that missile launches would invite US retaliation meant that Tehran\u2019s air defences were on the highest alert, but the regime did not cancel civil air traffic. This resulted in the mistaken shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger jet and the death of all 176 people on board, including many Iranian dual nationals returning to Canada via Kiev.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For three days the regime blamed the crash on a technical fault, and denied any missiles had been launched. Only when the mountain of evidence became insurmountable did they admit the truth; many in Iran have questioned whether an admission would ever have come, if foreign and dual nationals had not been involved. Within Iran at least, this avoidable catastrophe and subsequent attempt to escape blame has undermined the regime\u2019s narrative. Demonstrations, beginning at two of Tehran\u2019s historically most political universities, spread quickly around the country, participants chanting anti-regime slogans such as \u201cNo leader, no shah! Down with the Islamic Republic!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unstable nature of the period that has opened makes it difficult to formulate perspectives with any degree of certainty. However, there are points that all consistent democrats should be clear on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n