Over the course of the past week, Trump first threatened to carry out genocide against the 93 million human beings in Iran unless Iran ceased blockading the Strait of Hormuz, an important trade route. Then, when that horrific threat aroused worldwide outrage and when Iran refused to back down, Trump agreed to a two-week ceasefire along with negotiations. And now—after one day of negotiations which did not go to America’s liking—Trump has threatened a naval blockade along with resumed bombing which would end the ceasefire. 

Why is this madness even happening?

And yes, this is madness. But it is the madness of a system, capitalism-imperialism, and not mainly that of Trump per se—however violent and demented he may be. The U.S. under the fascist Trump says the quiet part out loud—at the top of its lungs. This system—which feeds off children in the Congo who mine coltan for cellphones, which virtually enslaves bitterly exploited women in Bangladesh pouring their lifeblood into “fast fashion,” and which grinds down factory workers in Mexico who make 10 percent of what their U.S. counterparts do—has been dominated by the U.S. since World War II. Trumpian fascism—with its open might-makes-right morality and gangster diplomacy—is an extreme expression of this system at a point when that system is running up against its limits. (This is gone into deeply in HUMANITY ON THE BRINK: A Forced March Into the Abyss, or Forging a Way Forward Out of the Madness?, by the revolutionary leader Bob Avakian.)

Nuclear Horror-Mongers Attempt to Preserve Their Monopoly

The fact that Trump drapes this in the hypocritical guise of “preventing Iran from getting nuclear weapons” is yet more madness—but again, systemic madness. 

"Preventing nuclear weapons?”

Yeah, right.

Not only is America the only country ever to use nuclear weapons (twice!)… not only does America stock 5,000 such weapons in its arsenal… not only is its Middle East attack dog Israel armed with nearly 200 nuclear weapons... but this year alone America appropriated $945 billion to “modernize” its arsenal of horror and will be requesting even more money in this coming year! Not only that, Iran has stated that it does not want and will not build nuclear weapons—that it wants the same rights every country has under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, which is to develop nuclear materials for peaceful use (mainly energy production and medical treatments). 

Such nuclear weapons are suicide machines which haunt and threaten the whole of humanity—but they are required by the expand-or-die, kill-or-be-killed logic of this imperialist system. (These truly horrific weapons can be—and will be—eliminated with a revolution to overthrow this system and the establishment of a socialist system, as envisioned and outlined in The Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America, authored by Bob Avakian.¹)

The Real Reason Behind the U.S.-Israeli War Against Iran And Our Duty To Oppose It

The real truth is that the U.S. and Israel launched this war to destroy the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) or, at minimum, to so seriously cripple it that it could never pose a threat again to U.S.-Israeli interests in the region. They said so, right at the outset. This is not because the IRI poses some sort of “anti-imperialist” alternative; to the contrary, the IRI is itself a reactionary regime, aiming to stake out turf within this imperialist system (and to perhaps ally itself with powerful imperialists opposed to the U.S., such as China or Russia, with whom Iran has “friendly” economic and military relations). 

You don’t have to believe that the Islamic Republic of Iran is “anti-imperialist” or “progressive” to forcefully and full-throatedly oppose what YOUR government is doing, and threatening to do, against the 93 million people of Iran!! In fact, given that it is YOUR government now threatening genocide, you have a duty as a human being to oppose it!

Trump Forced Into A Ceasefire…

After the U.S. and Israel launched their savage sneak attack on Iran on February 28, Iran took over the Strait of Hormuz—a narrow passage-way which is used to transport 20 percent of the world’s oil trade. Traffic stopped, and oil prices shot up around the world. At the same time, Iran withstood over 27,000 attacks from the U.S. and Israel combined. These attacks took the lives of over 1700 Iranian civilians, including at least 250 children—some of whom were slaughtered by U.S. planes as these children sat in their classrooms. In addition, the U.S. and Israel went after a huge section of the Iranian government, on the theory that a vacuum would be created that they could fill with a U.S. puppet. 

However, the government held on and the Iranian armed forces were able to use “asymmetric warfare” against the U.S. and Israel. They brought to bear certain strengths more in accord with their capabilities—for example, relatively low-cost drones—that they could deploy with some success against some of the way the U.S. is set up to fight wars. And Iran’s domination of the Strait of Hormuz resulted in a huge cut in ships going through it, as shippers worried that Iranian military could blow up their ships. Up to now, the U.S. has not wanted to risk a direct “troops-on-the-ground” invasion which could very likely entail significant U.S. casualties.

It was all this which led Trump to issue his genocidal threat of a week ago to destroy the Iranian civilization unless his demands were met by Tuesday night. Even issuing such a threat is actually a war crime! There was outrage around the world, and there was serious concern that such threats undercut America’s ‘standing’ in the world among significant sections of the U.S. ruling class. This even extended to parts of Trump’s fascist coalition and perhaps the military itself. However it exactly went down, Trump was forced to back off and to accept a ceasefire and agree to negotiations.

…Which He Then Quickly Breaks Off

Negotiations began Saturday afternoon. By early Sunday morning, the U.S. delegation walked out because Iran had not met U.S. demands. That’s not negotiation, which is supposed to involve give-and-take and compromise. What Trump proposed was like an “offer you can’t refuse from a Mafia don”—except that Iran did refuse it, while stating that it remained open to serious negotiation. The U.S. demanded that Iran open the Strait of Hormuz, that it turn over all nuclear material (even material allowed by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty designed to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons), and it give up its claim to assets that the U.S. “froze” with no legal justification whatsoever. 

Barely several hours passed before Trump issued another threat: “Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz.” He also once again threatened genocide, stating that “we are fully ‘LOCKED AND LOADED,’ and our Military will finish up the little that is left of Iran!” 

Up to now Iran has insisted that the Strait is not fully closed and it has let through some ships, including from China. Now just imagine: what if a Chinese- or Russian-owned oil tanker tries to cross the U.S. blockade? Then we’re going to a whole other level of madness, facing grave danger of a potential military confrontation between nuclear powers.

The Responsibility Of Stopping This War Rests With US

Even short of that prospect, if the U.S. maintains its outrageous demands, and its aim of utterly subjugating Iran; and if the U.S. continues to refuse to seriously negotiate, then it is almost certain that the economic damage to the worldwide capitalist-imperialist system will continue, and the pull on the U.S. to return to war will be huge. Such a renewed war could be even more destructive and potentially far more dangerous than what we’ve seen so far, with the possibility of drawing other major powers into it.

Now it is more imperative than ever that people in the U.S. break their silence and mass in the streets, that students turn the universities and high schools into sites of struggle, and that everybody find ways to raise their voices and say NO! YOU WILL NOT SEND THE IRANIAN PEOPLE TO ‘HELL’! END THE WAR NOW! THE TRUMP FASCIST REGIME MUST GO NOW!!!

And it is equally imperative that people check into WHY this is happening, getting into the new work from Bob Avakian, HUMANITY ON THE BRINK: A Forced March Into the Abyss, or Forging a Way Forward Out of the Madness? and get with the Revcom Corps For the Emancipation of Humanity to fight these outrages while you learn more about the source of the problem and how to overcome it.