qusay | Gaza🇵🇸

Five quick thoughts on the US-Zionist war on Iran: 1. This war was not irrational. As Lenin — channeling Carl von Clausewitz — reminded us, the root causes for any war are found in the politics of which the war is an extension. Armed conflict and politics do not exist as separate domains of activity, but form part of a continuum — and the fundamental causes of the war are to be found in the imperatives of imperialist accumulation. We may speculate that another US administration might not have acted as quickly, but the US ruling class has long been united on the necessity of a war against Iran. 2. This war was not isolated. It must, instead, be seen as part of a continuum of violence that stretches through time, from the containment of the Soviet Union to the assault on Iraq; and through space, from the kidnapping of President Maduro to the proxy war in Ukraine to the encirclement of China. Each forms part of a strategy to dismantle the conditions for sovereignty in the global periphery, constrain states' room for manoeuvre, and punish those who dare to resist their subjugation. If Gaza was a portend of the strategy in Iran, so was Syria and Libya and Afghanistan and, indeed, Yugoslavia. History is not a series of disconnected episodes, but a process of continuous struggle. 3. This war is not over. The United States has sought control over the Eurasian landmass for many decades — a strategy that advanced in fits and starts from the Cold War to the present day. The end goal remains the same: defeating China. Although the war has shifted the balance of power, the underlying drivers have not changed and the war will resume one way or another until the US suffers a decisive blow. It is not clear, even, that the fragile ceasefire will hold. 4. This phase of the war, however, was won by Iran and the regional resistance. The US-Zionist Axis entered Iran with maximalist ambitions of regime change, demilitarization and de-development. They leave Iran a world power. Iran has demonstrated an unprecedented capacity to challenge US military hegemony. It has united its society. It has strengthened its political resolve. It has weakened the regional comprador regimes. It has won the hearts of people around the globe. And it has secured firmer control over the Strait of Hormuz, where it will now charge tolls to pay for its reconstruction. 5. Iran's victory is a victory for the global working class. The US leaves the war exhausted and humiliated. Its weapons stockpiles have been catastrophically depleted. Irreplaceable radar systems have been turned to ash. Its aircraft carriers have been forced into retreat. In revealing that the US is fundamentally unprepared for contemporary warfare, Iran has reminded us of the old adage that "imperialism is a paper tiger". If the genocide in Gaza aimed to warn humanity of the consequences of resistance, Iran's victory reminds us that resistance is both necessary and possible. And it has made clearer than ever that imperialism simply could not win a war against China.

The blocking of the distribution of fuel is a sinister and despicable attack on our economy and our society. This is not a lawless country. The laws of the land must and will be applied without fear.