Growing threats against Iran: Fight back the war plans of the US an Israel!

Statement of the REVOLUTION International Council, June 2008

Different representatives of the ruling class of Israel and the US have increased pressure against Iran again. It was Hillary Clinton who started with saying that she would eliminate Iran if it would attack Israel. The designated candidate for the US presidential elections, Barack Obama, followed suit and made clear with his speech in front of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) that he is a “friend of Israel”. In this speech he also emphasised that “there is no greater threat to Israel – or to the peace and stability of the region – than Iran” and that his “goal will be to eliminate this threat”.

With this statements Obama gave a clear sign to the US-bourgeoisie that he is ready to fulfil their strategic goals in the Middle East. The reason why they are targeting Iran is simple: Iran has the second biggest gas-reserves in the world and possesses 138 billion barrels of oil. In addition to that Iran also supports the anti-imperialist struggle against the occupation of Iraq which poses serious problems to the US-troops and their allies.

The Neocons – a part of the US-bourgeoisie that argues for military action against Iran to fulfil their strategic goals – also published several articles that demand an attack on Iran. Especially Norman Podhoretz, who was the advisor of Rudy Giuliani when the latter was standing for the Republican presidential nomination wants to have an air strike: “The upshot is that if Iran is to be prevented from becoming a nuclear power, it is the United States that will have to do the preventing, to do it by means of a bombing campaign, and to do it soon.”

There are also parts of the US-bourgeoisie (like Obama) who argue that their shouldn’t be an attack but that US should follow their targets by diplomacy and sanctions. But it would be totally wrong to think that they represent a peaceful camp. In fact they only think that they can better fulfil their goals of subject the Middle East to their interests by the mans of sanctions. In the end this is just another expression of imperialist system that needs to increase the exploitation of the working class and has to subordinate whole regions to their rule to secure their profits.

Also Israel – the vassal of US-imperialism in the region – turns to a more aggressive rhetoric. Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz said that “if Iran presses ahead with its plan to develop nuclear weapons, we will attack it”. The oil price jumped by 11 $ as a result of this statement. This showed what kind of economic crises would follow an attack on Iran, by a massive increase of the oil price. But also the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who attacked Lebanon in the summer of 2006 and was suffering a hard defeat, was pressing ahead with the threats of military action. He said that “the Iranian threat must be stopped by all necessary means” and demanded that the US-military should allow the export of F-22 military planes. This planes could be used for attacking the underground nuclear facilities of Iran like Natanz or in Isfahan.

In addition to that Israel also organised military training of their air force. During this exercise they also trained how to fill the tanks of the planes during the flight. This would be necessary if they would attack Iran, as the distance can not be covered with a single tank.

Of course there are also several factors that speak against an attack on Iran. Some of these factors are the economic problems of a rocketing oil price after such an attack, the problems for the US-troops in Iraq, fueling of the anti-imperialist struggle in the region, and risking international class struggle against the bourgeoisie. The US-bourgeoisie also has a serious problems of legitimacy of going to war as the last National Intelligence estimate said, that Iran has stopped developing a nuclear bomb in 2003. But – and this is the reason why the anti-war-movement should take the threats serious – some parts of the US-bourgeoisie are ready to take this costs for reaching their strategic goals in the Middle East.

The working class, the youth and the anti-war-movement have to start to build for international action against this growing threat. This includes building action committees against war and sanctions at schools, universities and factories. Also if there is no attack REVOLUTION clearly refuses to accept any sanctions against Iran as they only serve the interests of imperialism. Also if we don’t have any sympathy with the reactionary regime in Teheran that regularly argues with anti-Semitic rhetoric and oppresses youth, women and the working class with brutal measures we would defend Iran in the case of an attack, as a defeat of the US and / or Israel would be vital for the international working class and anti-war-movement. The youth has to play an important role in this struggle against war and imperialism as they already did in 2003 when millions of young people were on the streets to fight against the war against Iraq. The international youth and the working class have to fight against the plans of imperialism with the following demands:

* After the war in Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon: No to another war in the region!
* No sanctions against Iran, stop the threats of military actions!
* For committees of the workers, youth and the semi-colonial world with an international coordination against war and occupation!
* There can not be a neutral position in the conflict of imperialist against semi-colonial countries! Support the anti-imperialist resistance against the imperialist forces in the Middle East! Pacifism only paves the way for the imperialist drive to war!
* For a struggle for democratic demands and secularism as a part of the struggle for socialism in Iran and the whole Middle East!
* For an revolutionary youth international that unites the struggle against war, racism, social cuts and capitalism and has to fight for a global socialist revolution!