Every member of the global anti-imperialist movement needs to learn the lessons from the October 7 Al-Aqsa Flood operation, Russia’s military operation, and this latest strategic victory of Iran. These actions have led to unprecedented gains for the Palestinian resistance, and thereby given us many things to learn from. That’s the central idea I’m choosing to emphasize here, because amid all of the dark developments I’m about to discuss, it’s crucial to also focus on solutions. There is a clear and realistic path to victory for the anti-imperialist cause, and there are so many factors in our favor; we’ll win if we navigate our situation correctly. In the form of a numbered list, I’m going to examine the biggest dangers the anti-imperialist cause is facing, and assess how the cause’s recent victories show we can respond to these threats.
Though the “Israeli” settler state is doomed, and its most recent crimes are bringing strategic defeats upon it, we cannot act like the anti-imperialist fight is isolated to this one front. The imperialists know that a Palestinian state is coming, and that the Zionist entity’s collapse is inevitable; so in reaction to this and other losses, they’re preparing to pivot towards a new warfare strategy. Towards a multi-pronged offensive where they wage full hybrid warfare against BRICS, with the foremost goal being to take away China’s global standing. And they’re using the “Israeli” state, with its mentality of desperate aggression, as a tool for trying to make BRICS vulnerable towards sabotage.
They’re doing this by assassinating hardline Iranian leaders, and thereby empowering the forces within Iran that seek to appease the imperialists. The country now has a president, Masoud Pezeshkian, who’s trying to reinstate the Iran nuclear deal—which would render the Islamic Republic unable to go down the deterrence path that the DPRK has followed. After the Zionist state’s assassination of the Hamas leader Haniyeh, Pezeshkian also accepted an offer from Netanyahu to not retaliate in exchange for a “ceasefire” within Lebanon. Iran then told Nasrallah that this supposed peace deal would make it safe to travel within Beirut. This let “Israel” murder Nasrallah in a strike that also killed around 200 civilians.
The highest authority within Iran continues to be Khamenei, who’s keeping Iran in support of Hezbollah. But the imperialist media has been speculating that when Khamenei dies, there will be an opportunity for the U.S.-friendly forces to gain more influence. The imperialists, the Zionists, and the local Iranian comprador forces will try to install their favored replacement, which would complete the country’s takeover by capitulationists. We’ll certainly see more color revolution activities within Iran that have this goal. A big sign of hope is that before these counterrevolutionary forces have had the chance to mobilize, Iranians who desire a serious anti-imperialist policy have begun protesting against Pezeshkian’s faction. They’ve decried Pezeshkian’s decision to accept the fraudulent “ceasefire” deal, which has done nothing besides allow the Zionist aggressors to attack more easily and effectively.
Anti-imperialists all around the globe must learn from these developments if we want to stop the hegemon’s next schemes. “Israel” is headed for its demise, but the Zionist state and its imperialist backers will take advantage of every weakness they can find, exploiting these vulnerabilities to do as much damage as possible. We have a responsibility to stop them from prolonging the imperial and colonial system’s lifespan.
The demonstrations from anti-imperialist Iranians represent a larger, continent-wide trend. A trend where the masses within many Eurasian countries are applying pressure upon their governments to stop compromising with the imperialist beast. In Iran’s case, these masses have already had their desires met, with Iran having massively retaliated against “Israel” today. The imperialists will still make their move after Khamenei is gone, but it’s apparent that Iran remains an anti-imperialist ally, and that there’s strong internal momentum against the capitulationist elements.
Jordan’s King Abdullah has been making hollow statements against the genocide because he sees how much fury his country’s people have over Gaza. Like the King, Erdogan has been trying to appear as if he stands with the Palestinians, with Erdogan reacting to his own people’s pro-Palestine sentiments. Because of this popular anti-imperialist wave, Jordan’s monarchy will continue to try to keep a precarious balance, while Turkey’s government will likely survive but need to do things which help bring the dollar’s demise. Turkey’s joining with BRICS puts the grouping in a better place to change the globe’s financial power balance. Erdogan continues to assist the genocide, but out of self-preservation he’s contributing to an economic shift which will be the hegemon’s undoing.
Russia began its military operation in Ukraine because of this same popular trend. The country’s national-bourgeois government knew that its people wouldn’t accept their leaders remaining passive while the Banderites massacred the Donbass Russian speakers, so the government took action. This operation has succeeded in its goal to dismantle Ukraine’s military, propelled BRICS to the vast relevance it now has, accelerated de-dollarization, and helped inspire many more acts of defiance against the hegemon. It’s part of why last year’s Sahel revolution happened, why Al-Aqsa Flood happened, and therefore why the anti-colonial struggle has made so many new gains in the last year alone. It’s not been the primary factor behind these other actions, yet it’s a factor that’s important to note. And like Al-Aqsa Flood, we must learn from it in order to defeat the enemy.
The ideological dispute that’s happening in Iran is the same type of internal argument which occurred in Russia prior to the Ukraine operation. It’s a struggle between the side that responds to aggression by seeking to please the aggressors, and the side that understands the necessity of self-defense. The pro-defense forces within Russia, led by the Communist Party and representing the people’s anti-fascist heritage, were able to make the government adopt a posture which is closer to that of the Palestinian resistance. Russia’s government came to think more like Hamas, or like the other armed resistance groups which are fighting on behalf of brutally oppressed populations; because these kinds of groups exist within such extreme situations of abuse, it’s easy for them to recognize when fighting is necessary. To reject the pacifist fantasy of making peace with a malicious actor who’s determined to continue causing harm. It’s this lesson that Iran’s pro-hardline demonstrators seek to get their leaders to keep applying.
When I say that everyone in the global anti-imperialist movement can learn from these anti-imperialist military actions, I mean everyone. Including those of us who are in the core of imperialism, where no wars are happening. We can apply these lessons by increasing our efforts to prepare for repression; by mastering secret work, training our cadres, and otherwise becoming more advanced in our organization-building projects. This is how we’ll survive the next parts of the crackdown that’s happening right now, and be equipped to rally the people against our monopolist dictatorship. Our government needs to crush the antiwar elements in order to wage a total war against BRICS, and instigate a new war in east Asia. If we frustrate this plan, we’ll be in a better place to overthrow the imperial state.
Because of the actions of the capitulationists, the imperialists have come to see Iran as a potential weak spot within the anti-U.S. bloc, hoping to use it as a tool for ruining the unity and functionality of BRICS. But the events of these last 24 hours have shown that the direction of Iran—and the rest of the globe by extension—is against the hegemon’s favor. The pro-appeasement figures have realized that they must go along with the goal of retaliating, or else they’ll be punished by the country’s people. After the “Israeli” war crimes from these last couple weeks, and the last year’s genocidal Zionist actions within Gaza, anybody who stands in the way of justice is putting themselves in danger from the masses. So going into this month’s BRICS summit, we can now expect a lack of any serious issues.
The struggle is far from over. To prevail, we’ll need to ensure that the posture behind these recent victories defines how the anti-imperialist forces operate. When these forces have tried to appease the empire, the cause has suffered grievously. When these forces have had the will to fight, the cause has been greatly advanced. We in the core must not expect to gain protection from within the existing state; our only path is to commit towards overthrowing this state.
The empire’s intelligence officials are preparing to use the 2024 election for a power grab, with their desired outcome being a Harris victory that precipitates new repression. What helps with these goals is that they’ve fully turned MAGA into a controlled opposition force, getting Trump to promote the deep state’s “Iranian assassination plot” narrative. This is about priming the MAGA base for the next war maneuvers, while giving Harris a weaker and more pro-establishment opponent. The intelligence centers, which are the forces that have truly been behind the attempts on Trump’s life, seek to mobilize their “counter-gang” civilian proxy forces for further violent actions. The plan is to use the counter-gangs to instigate violence that justifies repression. This is where our ruling class will next direct its focus amid these losses abroad. Ultimately the state will use both its police forces and its counter-gangs to try to eliminate our movement. Our job is to prevent them from crushing us, and win the people towards mobilizing against the state.
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