Declaration of the International Workers’ League – Fourth International
American and European imperialists constantly increase their declarations against Iran and threaten that country with military attacks. The contention for such an attitude is that Iran is developing technology that would permit future production of atomic bombs. Shielding behind the UNO, imperialism demands power to control de development of Iranian nuclear development and the Mahmoud Ahmadinjad administration has so far resisted this intrusion. From this point of view the imperialist game is very similar to the famous allegation of “weapons of mass destruction” prior to the invasion of Iraq.
Another alibi used by George W. Bush to justify a possible attack have been the declarations made by the Iranian president against Israel. On 20/3/06, said in his Cleveland address “The Iranian thereat is, of course, their declared aim to destroy our firm ally, Israel. This is a serious threat to the world peace. I have made it clear and I shall make it clear once more that we shall use all our military power to protect our resolute ally, Israel.”
Imperialist hypocrisy
The fact is that Iran has so far developed and purchased merely technology for the enrichment of uranium in order to generate nuclear energy similar to what such countries as Brazil and Argentina have had for decades but not fit to produce an atomic bomb. As far as we are concerned, however, it is entirely secondary whether Iran has this type of weapons or is planning to produce it. The alleged imperialist intention of avoiding “proliferation of nuclear weaponry” as an excuse for a possible attack against Iran is entirely hypocritical.
Several imperialist countries together with Russia and China possess the vast majority of atomic weapons and do not have the least intention of getting rid of them. Apart from that, something that is not a minor point, let us not forget that so far USA has been the only country to ever use such weapons against nay population and they did so in 1946m towards the end of the II World War against Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
Another sample of that hypocrisy is that fact that while the imperialist countries and the UNO threaten Iran, they pretend not to see the numerous atomic bombs that Israel possesses or even India, now another staunch ally of the USA. These countries have never signed the Non Proliferation of Atomic Weapons Treaty and are therefore free to use these nuclear weapons against a “non-nuclear country”, Who could Israel use such weapons if it is not against the Palestinians, the Arabic countries or even Iran? It is just another case of imperialist double morality. The main threat against world peace does not come from Iran bur precisely from imperialist countries and Israel!
At the same time, the real nature of the European imperialism is unveiled. Far from that “democratic” image that they want to sell us, such countries as France and Germany, who had not agreed to the invasion of Iraq, now give their support to the military occupation of that country. And as far as Iran is concerned, French president Jacques Chirac was in the lead of the nuclear threat against that country! And those hypocrites preach peace down on us!
The real reasons
The real reasons for such threats are very different from the ones quoted. Iran is one of the few relatively independent countries that are still left in the world. This fact is the result of the 1979 revolution that ousted Shah Pahlevi, unconditional agent of the USA. One of the consequences of this fact has been the expulsion of the American oil companies, nationalization of oil and the creation of the state monopoly NIOC. Later on, the revolution was aborted and defeated by the Shii religious hierarchy, the ayatollahs, who installed a reactionary and repressive regime of religious ideology.
This bourgeois and ultra-reactionary character is clearly revealed in the fact that the Iranian ayatollahs support the position of the Iraqi Shii hierarchy and the political parties that they influence, which are the central forces that integrate the occupation government in Iraq. In other words, they collaborate in Iraq with the same enemy who threatens with attacking them in Iran! A call on all the Iraqi Shiis to withdraw their support for the colonial regime in Iraq could be a quick and effective response to the imperialist threats and thus cornering even further the forces of imperialist occupation.
We, the revolutionaries, reject the ayatollah regime because of their bourgeois ultra-reactionary and repressive character and we support all the struggles of the Iranian people to defeat it and to democratize the country.
It is a fact, however, that the country has maintained its relative independence and Bush’s project stemming out of 11 September 2001 is to destroy any regime that – no matter how corrupt and repressive – is not prepared to obey blindly. As far as Iran is concerned, this is an old account to be settled ever since 1979.
Last year, when the attempt at changing thing on the electoral path failed for the candidate who had the imperialist support was defeated, threats mounted up. It is not the struggle between “democracy” and “repression” that is at stake. It is all about an attack of the imperialist countries at a much weaker country defending its independence.
Because of the political and military bog that Iraq is in, it does not seem very likely that imperialism will be fit to attempt a new invasion of Iraq. It is possible, however that they might try and carry out air raids and bombings on Iran, including with the aid of Israel.
The position of the IWL-FI
It is taking all this into account that we defend the right that Iran has to develop their atomic technology and even to produce the atomic bomb to defend themselves against imperialist or Israeli attacks.
Without granting any trust to the ayatollah regime and without giving them any political support, we, the revolutionaries, we clearly support Iran and the Iranian people in their confrontation against US, European imperialist countries and Israel.
International Secretariat of the IWL-FI
Sao Paulo 30 April 2006
