The United States and Israel have been heavily bombing Iran for over a month now. US spokespeople have announced that more than 11,000 targets have been struck during this period. Tens of thousands of expensive, high-tech munitions have been rained down on Iran – ranging from newly deployed next-generation missiles and Tomahawk cruise missiles, to nine-ton bunker-busters and precision-guided bombs. In addition, a large number of anti-air missiles have been used to prevent Iranian counterattacks. Taking into account not only the munitions used but also the operational costs of warplanes and naval vessels, it is not difficult to see that an enormous amount of money has already been spent on this war. In relation to this, some commentators argue that “the cost of the war is so high that the US cannot sustain it for long”, and suggest that, due to the burden imposed by these expenses, the US will be inclined to bring the war to an end.

Every sincere person who is genuinely disturbed by this filth and wants to eliminate it must join the struggle against decaying capitalism, against its increasingly plutocratic order. The target is not the West or America, not Judaism or Jewish people. The target is capitalism, and the only force capable of overcoming capitalism is the working class. If the working class can mount an anti-capitalist revolutionary struggle in an organized manner, it will be possible to cleanse this filth.

the working people must give not the slightest credence to the lie of the US-Israel about saving and liberating the Iranian people. The destruction caused by the bombs rained down upon the Iranian people and the peoples of the region cannot be hidden behind the façade of “salvation and freedom”. However, in the name of being on the side of the Iranian people, not the slightest support can be given to the Mullah regime either. Iranian working people must rise up to take their destiny into their own hands. The world working class must give them every possible support in their struggle against both US-Israeli imperialism and the Mullah regime.

Iran has for days been witnessing the transformation of the protests, which began on 28 December, into a revolt of the working masses spreading across the entire country. Triggered by the dramatic depreciation of the Iranian rial against the dollar and the subsequent mobilisation of bazaar merchants in Tehran, the demonstrations swiftly expanded into a broader social movement, voiced through slogans directly targeting the regime. Dozens of people have lost their lives and thousands have been detained as a result of assaults by regime forces. Yet the brutal repression of the mullah regime has failed to quell the revolt. Within ten days, the revolt has spread to all 31 provinces, intensifying not only in the streets but also through shuttered bazaars, workers’ strikes, and actions across dozens of universities. In many localities, police forces have retreated without resistance in the face of crowds storming police stations and seizing weapons, while in some areas they have even sided with the people. Reports indicate that in Kurdistan certain cities have been entirely taken over. And now, mass demonstrations are unfolding in Tehran itself. All of this points to the unfolding, once again, of a revolutionary situation in Iran.

While U.S. threats and assaults against Venezuela have persisted for months, the midnight abduction of President Maduro and his wife on January 3, and their removal from the country, marked a new threshold in imperialist banditry. Reinforced by Trump’s statements, this act demonstrates that capitalism has abandoned even the rhetorical remnants of international law, national sovereignty, the peoples’ democratic choice, and similar pretenses. The historical crisis and impasse we have long emphasized had already dragged capitalism’s “norms” into a vortex of destruction. As Trump’s rhetoric and actions reveal, not only is there no veil left to conceal the disgrace now exposed, but there is no longer any perceived need for one.

Latest developments make it necessary to briefly recall what the tendency of “democratic socialism” championed by the reformist circles leading these movements actually means. In Turkey, this necessity has become even more pressing recently due to a rather unexpected reason. Öcalan’s “initiatives,” which emphasize “democratic societal socialism,” substantially overlap in content with the core claims of the reformist tendency in the Western world. Therefore his views are neither new nor particularly original.

The idea that no alternative presented as a solution under the capitalist system to the problems created by that very system can be a genuine solution is proving itself with concrete examples in the field of so-called green/clean technology. The term green/clean technology is used to characterize technologies designed to be environmentally friendly from the production line to their use. This term also encompasses recycling. To control climate change, reduce pressure on natural resources, protect nature, and repair the damage done, it is necessary to shift towards models that phase out environmentally harmful production techniques, practices, and products. This, in turn, requires a transformation in every field – from energy production to industry, from agriculture to transportation. To move away from fossil fuels, which play a major role in global climate change, turning to clean energy sources and technologies such as wind, solar, hydroelectric, and geothermal power through planning focused on minimizing their negative environmental impacts plays a key role in this regard.

Today, we are at a crucial historical turning point, with imperialist war drums beating due to the crisis of the capitalist system on the one hand, and the workers’ movement beginning to make its voice heard again in various parts of the world on the other. Without waging a systematic struggle against the entrenched misconceptions of the old era, it is impossible to meet the tasks of the new era. A new breakthrough is necessary, and for this, a resolute struggle must be waged in every respect. If a new organisation signifying a breakthrough is not grounded in a clear and comprehensive reckoning with the entrenched but distorted conceptions of the old era, then what is the point of all this effort?

Revolutionary Marxists take the side of neither Israel nor Iran. Marxists focus principally on the class character of the warring parties, analysing which class interests the war serves, for what aims, and as a continuation of which policies. Here, we are dealing with two regional capitalist powers, both connected to rival major imperialist forces. Each side pursues policies aimed at expanding or consolidating its regional influence. And these events are unfolding within the broader framework of the ongoing third imperialist world war, which is being fought in its own distinct manner. This specific war is merely one link in the larger chain of that great war. Precisely for this reason, the “12-Day War” could not remain a mere twelve-day conflict. New wars and clashes are inevitable as links in this greater war. On one side, we have forces attempting to establish a new order in the region, desired primarily by US and other Western imperialist powers. On the other, we have a power aligning itself with the imperialist interests of rivals like Russia and China in the region. Both policies are reactionary from the standpoint of the working class; both are enemies of the working class. The working class cannot take sides in this reactionary bourgeois line-up.

it is clear that not only the United States but also other major Western imperialists are seeking to further spread and escalate the ongoing World War. Russia and China, on the other side, see where things are heading and are preparing accordingly. It is very clear that the only thing the imperialists, plunderers and militarists will bring is more death. They are not pursuing peace, but rather more influence and more power. According to them, peace can only come "after the great victory"; until then, more weapons, more soldiers, and more powerful attacks will be needed. The people will be asked to make greater sacrifices and to unite tightly around the state in defence of the homeland. Those who pin their hopes for peace on the great powers, their negotiations, or international bourgeois institutions are deceiving not only themselves but also the world's workers. The truth is starkly clear: The only force capable of stopping the imperialists is the organised revolutionary working class.