This contribution is being written while the war is underway and the outcome remains uncertain. The US-Israeli offensive against Iran aims to redefine the Middle East. There is no quick victory; the conflict is straining the powers and impacting the global economy. There is uncertainty about its outcome and consequences. There is the possibility that the US is defeated. An anti-imperialist movement in support of Iran, Palestine, Lebanon, Venezuela, Cuba, and other countries, regardless of their regimes, is needed. The International Socialist League (ISL) reaffirms the positions expressed since the beginning of the war.(1)
A reactionary aggression against Iran
The Imperialist-Zionist attacks against Iran are not a confrontation between “democracy” and “Islamist dictatorship”: but an aggression with military, economic, and political objectives. They speak of destroying Iranian military capabilities, particularly nuclear ones, but they are causing destruction and civilian deaths instead. They intend to decimate Iranian oil production and sales. And to neutralize Iran as an independent regional power, overthrow the regime to strengthen the genocidal state of Israel as the enforcer of imperialism, and impose a government favorable to colonial interests.
Netanyahu is a fervent promoter of war, in order to advance with his “Greater Israel” plan, he raises the possibility of occupying southern Lebanon, take total control of Gaza and annex the West Bank.
Iran resists and counterattacks, the regime has not fallen
The aggressors planned an operation that would quickly overthrow the regime, but in three weeks of war, Iran has resisted and the regime has not fallen. Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz, carried out retaliatory actions, counterattacked Israel, bombed the strategic production of pro-imperialist countries in the region, and, unprecedentedly, fired ballistic missiles at US and UK bases in the Indian Ocean. The impacts on Tel Aviv and Jerusalem show that the “Iron Dome” is not impenetrable and that Iran, even when battered, does not limit itself to symbolic responses. Tehran has begun to extend its actions to alternative routes to the Strait of Hormuz, which are vital for global energy trade, the disruption of which affects prices, inflation, and economic and political stability.
Although the reactionary Ayatollah regime has recently repressed protests and killed thousands of Iranians, the protests have not emerged again, no superstructural splits, on the contrary, the regime projects a national cohesion image in the face of external aggression. Iran’s anti-imperialist and anti-Zionist actions are considered legitimate self-defense, and the support of Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iraqi Shiite militias is part of this response.
Trump has not achieved his goal, is isolated and the future is uncertain
The regime did not fall as Trump intended, and the EU and NATO governments refuse to participate in the war; that is why Trump called them cowards, threatened them, and raised the possibility of abandoning the Spanish bases of Rota and Morón.
The alignment of EU governments after the “No to war” campaign does not imply a “pacifist” shift, since they continue to allocate millions of euros to “defense” and rearmament budgets.
The disagreements between American imperialism and European imperialisms expressed in the dispute over tariffs and Ukraine, are deepening with Iran. They do not explicitly imply a strategic break, but cause crises between old partners.
The popular backlash against Trump is massive in the US. There are resignations such as that of the head of counterterrorism, who questioned the official narrative that Iran represented an “imminent threat” and pointed to Israel’s influence in the decision to go to war.
Trump is an erratic bully who embodies the rot of decadent capitalism.
The war escalates and Trump is in trouble.
The war is in a phase of open escalation, with direct attacks on critical infrastructure, expanding both in territory and time, combining military offensives, economic pressure, and political crises.
A US-Israeli victory could install a subservient, “reformed” Islamist, pro-US military, or monarchical government. But to achieve this, it would need to invade Iran, which would involve thousands of American deaths and the possibility of an outcome like that of Iraq or Afghanistan.
An Iranian victory, or even if it manages to avoid being crushed—something that is likely to happen—would be a tremendous setback for Trump and Netanyahu, intensifying the criticism of both and triggering enormous changes in the US, the Middle East, and internationally.
The war is spiraling out of Trump’s control; he is increasingly isolated, and it cannot be ruled out that this could translate to his political downfall.
Global consequences
The US and Israel attacked the strategic oil island of Gorj; Iran responded by bombing refineries in Qatar, and there is ongoing crossfire in the Strait of Hormuz. Due to the crisis, financial markets are declining and creating uncertainty and shockwaves in the already fragile capitalist economy.
The ripple effect reaches the working class with price increases in fuel, transportation, and food, in addition to purchasing power loss.
There is no possibility of a peaceful and stable future under the imperialist capitalist system. It provokes crises and wars stemming from inter-imperialist conflict.
Trump attacks the workers and people of the United States, Venezuela, Palestine, Iran, Cuba, and other countries generate political and mobilized rejection. Ultimately, the new order he seeks to impose is resulting in global disorder.
China and Russia are political and economic allies of Iran and criticize the US attack, but, considering their imperialist interests, they are not willing to directly challenge the US nor to provide any direct assistance, as happened in Venezuela, or Cuba.
Defending Iran does not imply supporting the Islamist regime
We defend Iran and its people against imperialist aggression. This does not imply political support for the regime or masking the capitalist theocratic dictatorship as allegedly “anti-imperialist.” The regime has also demagogically presented itself as a defender of the liberation of Palestine, doing nothing to prove it. At the same time, Iran has been increasingly turning into something close to a semi-colony, with a growing dependence on Russia and China, ties used by the regime to counteract the effects of the sanctions imposed on it by Western imperialism.
The reactionary regime is the result of a revolution against the Shah that was hijacked by the Islamic counter-revolution led by Ayatollah Khomeini. It was a product of the influence of religion on the Iranian masses and the betrayal of much of the left, which subordinated itself to Khomeini, such as the Stalinist Tudeh Party. Then, People’s Fedayeen, the PST, and a workers’ vanguard organized in the Shoras, or independent factory councils were exceptions. Thus, a counter-revolutionary regime was consolidated, with a clerical state dictatorship supported by fascist forces such as the Basij militia.
Over time, rebellions have been repeated: the Jin Jiyan Azadi movement, the mass strikes, protests, and uprisings of 2025/26. The regime always responds with brutal repression that results in the deaths, injuries, imprisonment, or disappearances of protesters. We stand in solidarity with the struggle of the workers, the peoples, and the oppressed nationalities against the mullahs and the monarchists.
We revolutionaries must prepare for future struggles against the regime by building a revolutionary political force of the working class that can guide upcoming mass uprisings, prevent further defeats, and stop pro-imperialist-Zionist forces from capitalizing on the situation. This requires a program of permanent revolution that links democratic demands with the struggle for a workers’ government and for socialism.
We fight for a revolutionary and socialist perspective in the Middle East and throughout the world, which entails the task of strengthening the international regrouping of revolutionaries based on a common program and method, a task we are developing from the ISL and its sections.
For a united international movement
Let’s build a massive and united international movement against imperialist attacks and genocide in Palestine.
Hands off Iran! For the defeat of the US and Israel! Zionists out of Lebanon! Stop the genocide of the Palestinian people! Support the Palestinian liberation struggle! No to the deceitful US-Israel-Hamas pact! Imperialists out of the Middle East!
Let’s confront the traitorous Arab governments, their dictatorships and oligarchies! Close all US and allied military bases! Strikes, mobilizations, and united actions against the warmongers!
Solidarity with the Iranian people! No political support for the dictatorial regime of the Ayatollahs! For the right to self-determination, even to the point of separation, for all the peoples of Iran and for their free unity in a regional socialist federation!
We reject imperialist aggression against Venezuela and Cuba, without politically supporting their regimes or the imperialisms of China and Russia! For a solidarity campaign with the Cuban people!
Let the working people not pay the price for this war adventure. Let us support their demands and promote a general strike in response to the soaring cost of living, fuel and food prices, layoffs, and other capitalist ills stemming from the war!
International Socialist League (ISL)
03/21/2026
