May 14, 2019

As if the White House gang felt incomplete simply leveling economic threats against China, making hostile comments about Russia and imposing illegal sanctions — illegal because they amount to collective punishment of the populations — on Venezuela, Cuba and north Korea — they have once again put the Islamic Republic of Iran in the gun sights of U.S. imperialism.

The Trump gang, in a show of force, has sent an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf, near Iran’s coastline. They asked the Pentagon to supply a plan for sending 120,000 U.S. troops to prepare an invasion. They have also attempted to stop Iran from exporting any oil to its customers. These exports are necessary for the Iranian economy. Stopping them raises the price other sellers of petroleum can demand — something important for U.S. oil companies trying to increase exports of fracked oil.

In May 2018, Trump pulled the U.S. out of the nuclear accord with Iran signed by the Barack Obama administration. That had opened up trade with Iran from both the U.S. and European Union countries in return for Iran stopping its nuclear program.

U.S. officials claim, without giving evidence, that Iran poses a threat to U.S. troops in the region. Even some U.S. allies have remarked that this kind of claim sounds much like George W. Bush’s  2002-03 claims that Iraq possessed “weapons of mass destruction.”

The spread of Bush’s “Big Lie” led to the March 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq. What followed was Iraqi resistance to the U.S. occupation that threatened to drive the troops out. Only a U.S.-instigated civil war that divided and destroyed much of Iraq prevented a U.S. defeat.

Before a Brussels meeting this May 13 that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attended, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said his government was worried about a conflict and an unintended escalation. Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told Pompeo his country doesn’t want to see a conflict. And France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian urged Europeans to remain united in support of the Iran nuclear deal. (New York Times, May 13)

While no serious resistance can be expected from the European imperialists to U.S. aggression, it was obvious that none of the governments saw the U.S. moves as something they could openly sign on to. Instead, they are attempting to set up a path for Iran to make trade deals while avoiding the U.S.-controlled global financial system.

Iranians themselves are in a much stronger position than Iraq was in 2003 to resist a U.S. attack and make it costly. An Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander commented on the growing strength of his country’s defense forces, saying the U.S. military presence in the Gulf used to be a serious threat but now represents a target. (reuters.com, May 12)

If the Pompeo-Bolton-Abrams gang think a few Trump tweets and the movement of warships will bring the rest of the world to its knees, they need to face a new reality. Cubans are organizing rationing to withstand hard economic times; Venezuela already smashed three coup attempts; the DPRK said it would continue to defend itself; and the Iranians are staying strong.

This resistance from around the world should also encourage anti-imperialists within the United States to stay strong and oppose any new aggressive moves by both the White House gang — and the Democratic Party leaders who go along with this aggression.

U.S. hands off Iran!