Questions & Answers by Michael Pröbsting, Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT), 18 April 2024, www.thecommunists.net
In the following article we will explain – in form of questions & answers – the position of the Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT) about the current conflict between Israel and Iran.
Question: Should socialists take a side in the looming war between Israel and Iran?
Answer: Yes, in this conflict socialists must not remain neutral but side with Iran. In its statement about the Iranian strike against Israel on 13 April, the RCIT summarized its approach in the slogan: “Support Iran and other resistance forces against Israel and the Western imperialists!” [1]
Q: So, you are for the military defeat of Israel and its Western allies?
A: Yes, this is correct.
Q: But what do you say to those who point to the reactionary nature of the Mullah regime in Tehran?
A: We are fully aware of the reactionary character of the Iranian regime. This is a capitalist dictatorship which oppresses the workers, women and national minorities in their countries. In addition, it has also helped the tyranny of Assad to slaughter the Syrian people. The RCIT has therefore always supported the mass protests in Iran [2] as well as the liberation struggle of the Syrian people against Assad and his Russian and Persian masters. [3] For all these reasons we lend no political support for the Mullah regime – we only support their military activities in the Middle East as far as they are directed against Israel and the Western imperialists. But when Iran bombarded Syria, Iraq and Pakistan with missiles in January this year, we condemned this as a reactionary aggression. [4] Likewise, we continue to support the resistance of the popular masses in Iran as well as of the Syrian rebels also under the present conditions.
Q: So why do you side with Iran in this conflict?
A: Israel’s and America’s conflict has never been about the undemocratic nature of the Mullah regime. Just remember the dictatorship of Shah Reza Pahlavi who brutally ruled the country from 1941 until the revolution in 1979 and who was a close ally of Washington and the Zionist state. This conflict is about the domination of the Middle East by Israel and the U.S. This domination is in acute crisis because Israel has failed to crush Hamas after 6 months of genocidal war, because the Houthis are attempting to control der Red Sea and because a number of Arab states are becoming more independent from Washington – the long-time hegemon in the region. If Israel (and the U.S.) fail to defeat Iran in such a conflict, it would massively weaken their role in the Middle East and advance the liberation struggle of the Palestinian people as well as of other peoples. However, if Israel and the U.S. defeat Iran, it will strengthen their domination in the region.
Q: Does this mean that you side with Iran because the Israel-Iran conflict is an extension of the current war in Gaza?
A: Indeed, this is an important reason as the RCIT sides with the Palestinian resistance and advocates the defeat of the Zionist Apartheid and Terror state. [5] However, this is not the only reason. There have been repeatedly sharp tensions between Israel and the U.S. and Iran in the past years which were sometimes close to the outbreak of war. In all these conflicts, we sided with Iran against the Zionists and their Western allies. We did so for the above-mentioned reasons – in order to weaken the Israeli-American domination of the Middle East and to aid the Palestinian liberation struggle. But there is also another, more fundamental reason: Iran is a capitalist semi-colony while the U.S. and Israel are imperialist powers (and, in addition, Israel is also a racist settler state).
Q: Can you briefly explain the difference between a semi-colony and imperialist states?
A: In our works on the Marxist theory of imperialism we characterised an imperialist state as follows: An imperialist state is a capitalist state whose monopolies and state apparatus have a position in the world order where they first and foremost dominate other states and nations. As a result, they gain extra-profits and other economic, political and/or military advantages from such a relationship based on super-exploitation and oppression. In contrast, a semi-colonial country is a capitalist state whose economy and state apparatus have a position in the world order where they first and foremost are dominated by other states and nations. As a result, the imperialist monopolies and states are able to get extra-profits and other economic, political and/or military advantages from these semi-colonial countries through their relationship based on super-exploitation and oppression. In other words, while both types of countries are capitalist, these are states with different class characters – one plays a dominating (i.e. imperialist) and the other a dominated (i.e. semi-colonial) role in world economy and politics. [6]
Q: Some consider Iran as a small imperialist or sub-imperialist power. What do you say about this?
A: No, this is wrong. Iran is a backward country compared with Israel and the U.S. If one looks at the GDP per head – as a measure of wealth – Iran ranks only as 124th country (in nominal terms and as 83rd by PPP). In contrast, Israel has the 13th highest in the world. It plays an important role in the global IT, arms, diamond industries and has one of the strongest armies in the world with 200 nuclear missiles. Iran, on the other hand, largely depends on the production and export of oil and gas and its corporations play no role in the world economy.
Q: Since a few years, Iran has established alliances with Russia and China – two imperialist powers. Does this not influence the character of the Israel-Iran conflict?
A: It is true that Iran has built such alliances with the Eastern Great Powers. However, in this conflict these factors do not play a dominating role. First, the conflict between Israel and Iran stems from the revolution in 1979 and repeatedly flared up long before Teheran has linked up with Putin and Xi. Second, the current conflict is strongly interlinked with the Palestine question. Third, the U.S. have stationed tens of thousands of troops in several military bases and also has a sizeable air force and navy in the region (which was key in shooting down many Iranian drones and missiles last weekend). In contrast, Russia has only a much smaller contingent in the region (which has not interfered in the conflict until now) and China has no armed forces there.
In conclusion, the RCIT considers the defence of Iran in this conflict as important since a military failure of Israel would aid the liberation struggle of the Palestinian people, could provoke a deep crisis of the Zionist Apartheid and Terror state Israel, could weaken domination of U.S. imperialism and would inspire the liberation struggles of many other oppressed people in the region.
[1] RCIT: Iran Retaliates against Israel’s Aggression. Defend Iran against Israel and the U.S.! But no political support for the reactionary Mullah Regime in Teheran! Victory to the liberation struggles of the Palestinian people! 14 April 2024, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/africa-and-middle-east/iran-retaliates-against-israel-s-aggression/
[2] See e.g. the compilation of RCIT articles about the mass protests against the Mullah regime in autumn 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/africa-and-middle-east/mass-protests-against-reactionary-regime-in-iran/
[3] The RCIT has published a number of booklets, statements and articles on the Syrian Revolution which can be read on a special sub-section on our website: https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/africa-and-middle-east/collection-of-articles-on-the-syrian-revolution/
[4] RCIT: Iranian Missile Strikes in Syria, Iraq and Pakistan: A Reactionary Aggression, 18 January 2024, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/africa-and-middle-east/iranian-missile-strikes-in-syria-iraq-and-pakistan/
[5] We refer readers to a special page on our website where all RCIT documents on the 2023-24 Gaza War are compiled, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/africa-and-middle-east/compilation-of-articles-on-the-gaza-uprising-2023/.
[6] Our main works on the Marxist theory of imperialism are two books by Michael Pröbsting: Anti-Imperialism in the Age of Great Power Rivalry. The Factors behind the Accelerating Rivalry between the U.S., China, Russia, EU and Japan. A Critique of the Left’s Analysis and an Outline of the Marxist Perspective, RCIT Books, Vienna 2019, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/anti-imperialism-in-the-age-of-great-power-rivalry/; The Great Robbery of the South. Continuity and Changes in the Super-Exploitation of the Semi-Colonial World by Monopoly Capital. Consequences for the Marxist Theory of Imperialism, RCIT Books, Vienna 2013, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/great-robbery-of-the-south/