The United States-Israel war on Iran is a “wholly illegal war” and a display “of authoritarianism, of tyranny, that’s laced with a blood thirst and a lust for power and domination”, retired Master Sergeant Wes Bryant, a war veteran and Pentagon whistle blower, told Democracy Now.
“It’s been carried out recklessly from the start and with little regard for the innocent, as well as all of the rest of the economic regional security impacts.”
The US is responsible for launching illegal wars which have lead to significant loss of life, environmental disaster and failed to deliver its own so-called objectives. They include the coup against Indonesian General Suharto (1965–1966), Vietnam War (1965–1975), the coup against Chilean President Salvador Allende (1973), the invasion of Grenada (1983) to topple a progressive government, the Afghanistan war (2001-2021) and the Iraq War (2003–2011).
The US has been meddling in Iran for decades. In August 1953, the CIA and MI6 jointly orchestrated a coup to eradicate democratically-elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh after he nationalisatised the British-controlled Iranian oil industry.
Shah Reza Pahlavi and the SAVAK, his deadly secret police, were installed with the CIA and Israel’s assistance. Their role was to protect the Shah and US-British interests and they did so by arresting, torturing and executing political dissidents and opposition groups.
The 1979 Iranian revolution, which unseated the autocratic Shah, was a popular uprising — a rare, unified people power victory against a major Western-backed, repressive military power. Leftists all over the world hoped it would lead to a progressive and democratic Iran, but that did not eventuate as Ruhollah Khomeini, an Islamist cleric, was invited to government by the then opposition prime minister Shapour Bakhtiar.
The Pahlavi dynasty’s anti-democratic record means Reza Pahlavi’s bid for power will not help the masses in Iran. The current regime’s deadly crackdown on, and brutal treatment of, ordinary Iranians, in particular women and ethnic and religious minorities, is no solution. But neither will the illegal US-Israeli war help bring about democratic change in Iran.
Israel and the US would be happy to ensure Iran becomes a failed state, which is why they are targeting important civilian infrastructure including desalination plants, the oil and gas sectors, major steel factories, hospitals, universities and schools.
Israel is seeking dominant power status in the region and, with the US’ help, to influence Arab nations through proxies.
The US wants to control Iran’s gas reserves, the second largest in the world, and its oil reserve, which amount to 12% of the global total.
In addition to this and the loss of lives, the economic costs are rapidly accelerating. War minister Pete Hegseth has requested an additional US$200 billion from Congress to fund it.
Meanwhile, most Americans oppose the war, as do most Australians. How we can help build an effective anti-war movement here is not as simple as looking to the past.
A powerful anti-war movement was built over several years against the US-Australian war on Vietnam, but it really kicked in when conscription was made law. A powerful show of opposition to the illegal war on Iraq mobilised a million people in February 2003, ahead of Prime Minister John Howard sending troops, but it dissipated when Labor decided to support that war.
Labor was the first Western government to support this US-Israel war on Iran war, sending military equipment and now SAS troops and, but it is now cooling its heals, expressing some concern with Donald Trump’s war “objectives”.
Socialist Alliance is supporting anti-war initiatives, including those led by Iranian leftists and other anti-war networks, which are demanding Australia stops supporting the war. Demanding an end to AUKUS is important because Australia’s support for the US war on Iran and Israel’s war on Lebanon is precisely what that military alliance demands.
We also insist that any ceasefire includes a full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon and Gaza.
We have to convince more unions to take a public position to oppose the war and to educate their members that peace is union business. Unions, once the backbone of anti-war movements, have not played that role over the last 2.5 years during Israel’s illegal war on Gaza. While some unionists have played important mobilising roles, communities, students and others have led the Palestine justice rallies.
It means that the left has an urgent task to rebuild consciousness in their unions about the need to take a stand to oppose this war. Unions can make an important contribution to educating society about the real causes of this war, its implications for working people and what self-determination looks like.
The George W Bush administration put the cost of the 2003 Iraq war at US$40 billion; it ended up costing about US$3 trillion. For about one day’s worth of war spending we could save more than 350,000 lives worldwide from malaria.
After just four weeks of war, working people are struggling to afford the higher petrol/diesel and other essential consumer goods, on top of the higher interest rates. We’ve been told that petrol is guaranteed until May, but the increasingly erratic and dangerous Donald Trump indicates there is no off-ramp.
[Mary Merkenich delivered a version of this to a public forum in Naarm/Melbourne. She is a member of the Socialist Alliance.]