A new phase in the imperialist war of partition? Or taking the right stance

Deniz Adalı

July 2025 – Kaldıraç Issue 288

On June 13, 2025, before dawn, Israel launched an attack against Iran. In fact, the attack had been anticipated for some time. For example, back in April 2025, it was being said that this attack would take place. But it seems that both the measures taken by China around Taiwan and the difficulties caused by the defeat of the US-NATO axis in the Ukraine war led to a postponement of the attack. And then, the Iran–US nuclear negotiations prolonged the process.

From this brief introduction, we understand that: (a) Israel–the US (and of course England and NATO) will launch attacks. This is what they always do. Yesterday it was Gaza, then Lebanon, Syria, Libya, etc.—Israel has been involved in all of them, and moreover, the Turkish state has also sought to be involved. (b) It appears that this war is part of a greater war. And the war is expanding. Every new step means testing the other powers. Every new move also means an attempt to gain an advantage on the ground. (c) The target of this war is not only Iran, but also Russia and China. And both of them are trying to prevent the war from expanding. The more they try to prevent the war from spreading, to avoid a war altogether, the more the other side sees itself as “brave.” Therefore, they believe they can attack anywhere, anytime they want.

Let’s get back to the topic.

We now know that the Israel–US–England front (and you can add France, Germany, and the entire NATO to that) always starts with negotiations. While these negotiations are ongoing, they carry out attacks and conduct assassinations in this manner. In war, of course, there is deception. But this trio—imperialist Western powers—have no rules of war, no “values,” and we are well aware of this. That is how the Hezbollah leader was killed. An agreement had already been made. This situation reveals the identity of the aggressor, and it is also necessary to expose the fact that this aggression is being carried out in plain view of the world. International law and so on have long been shelved, and the US, England, and all NATO forces openly defend all forms of aggression.

Iran had nuclear negotiations scheduled for Sunday, June 15, 2025, and they launched the attack before those talks took place. This shows that none of their words can be trusted.

The attacks were carried out with three main justifications: (1) The Israel–US–England side claimed that the reason for the attacks was the missiles and weapons in Iran’s possession. Netanyahu said they had 20,000 missiles. Another figure claimed the number was 2,000 and that it would soon rise to 8,000. (2) They said, and continue to say, that Iran was bombed because it wanted to develop nuclear weapons, and that Iran must never be allowed to possess nuclear arms. (3) They say that their aim is to overthrow the religious-Islamist regime in Iran.

These claims need to be examined closely. Because in our country, it is possible to say that there are quite a few beings who, under the appearance of being leftists, are actually working for Israel. I say “beings” because those who are willing to sell everything they have for dollars tend to cease to be human beings. And due to the war, these extensions of Israel are being forced to act quite openly. In this way, it also becomes possible to identify them. It must be noted: these extensions of Israel are conducting propaganda on behalf of Israel. They want to make people forget what Israel has done in Gaza, and now we can see that they have set out to turn Iran into the new enemy.

Now let us look at these three points.

Let’s assume that Iran possesses thousands of missiles. Well, isn’t that actually normal, considering that every state has an armed force? For example, if country X also possesses weapons, does that mean it should also be made a target? This is the product of a despicable, arrogant perspective rooted in seeing oneself as the master of the world. And it is not just because of the personalities of Trump or Netanyahu—this is the mindset of the entire Western bloc and NATO, who are now fueling the war. They believe themselves to be the rulers of the world, and on top of that, they are quite skilled at placing “leaders” who will act with reckless narcissism in line with this belief into the appropriate positions. Trump, for example, has been tasked with both covering up the defeat in Ukraine against Russia (the US and NATO have been defeated in Ukraine—whether or not they admit it is another matter, but the ongoing negotiations are on the agenda precisely for this reason: to stall Russia while repositioning their forces on the ground. The word “peace” coming from Trump’s mouth actually signals a goal of further escalation.) and with expanding the war to wider regions. Israel, under Netanyahu’s leadership as a fundamentalist-fascist state, is acting as a hitman in the Middle East for this mission. As the war progresses and Iran’s responses prove to be serious, the US starts talking about “direct involvement in the war.” But in fact, it is already directly involved. The ones igniting the war are the US, England and NATO. 

The United States and NATO do not want to accept the presence of any power other than themselves. Iran, despite being under sanctions, is a power in the region, and in fact, it is one of the weaker members of the Russia-China alliance opposing the US-NATO bloc. Therefore, striking Iran essentially means striking both China and Russia—especially China. The United States and England do not want to see any obstacles in front of their colonial policies in the Middle East. This is precisely where the statement from Israel about “20,000 missiles” gains significance.

Syria, as independent power in the region, is now being colonized. The same colonization process is being planned for Iran. But Iran is a stepping stone to strike China and Russia. Syria was a stage to strike Iran, but Iran is a move to strike Russia and China. Not only that—of course, the partition of the Middle East is also involved.

Fascist and religious -fundamentalist Netanyahu says, “Iran has 20,000 missiles—we must strike.” Well then, let’s say a portion of those 20,000 missiles pierce through your “Iron Dome.” Wouldn’t they explode where you are? Of course they would. But when it comes to war, it would be foolish to think that these countries, the imperialist powers, and their proxy—the fundamentalist -fascist government of Israel—would care about their own citizens. Profit and domination, relations of power mean the destruction of every human value. Therefore, expecting humanitarian concerns from the world’s imperialist rulers means nothing more than being deceived by their words in this regard.

Let’s say that countries with many weapons and missiles are to be attacked—then that means the US should be a good target for attack. And of course, so should Israel. Does Israel have few weapons? What would happen if China, for the same reason, attacked Israel now? Do the US and England have few weapons?

The second point is the issue of “nuclear weapons,” as mentioned in their propaganda and, of course, for that reason, also echoed by those in our country who actively spread propaganda under their orders and in exchange for money.

On this matter, Israel is not and cannot be among the countries that can speak or give moral lessons. The Netanyahu administration has no moral standards whatsoever.

And truthfully, on this matter, Iran is much more consistent. Iran explicitly calls for the elimination of all nuclear weapons in the Middle East region. That means: no one, including itself, should have nuclear weapons.

According to information released to the press, the list of nuclear weapons in the world is as follows:

As seen in the table, Israel possesses 90 nuclear bombs. Therefore, first and foremost, these bombs in Israel’s possession must be destroyed. This means that the Israeli regime must be dismantled first. A country that shamelessly holds this many nuclear bombs talks about having the right to attack by claiming, “Iran wants to produce nuclear bombs.” And the Israel admirers in our country, those working on behalf of Israel, while propagandizing Israel’s views, never mention in their statements that Israel possesses nuclear bombs. 

The Netanyahu administration has a practice called Gaza, a genocide called Palestine. Iran does not have such a practice. And they tell us that the people in Iran are crazy, while those in Israel are sane. The mullahs in Iran are supposedly so irrational that they would immediately detonate the bomb. But are the fundamentalist fascists and Netanyahus in Israel any more reasonable? Besides, what does detonating bombs have to do with individuals? War is not the work of crazy and irrational people; war is the way out given the conditions the imperialist system is in. They have no concern for humanity and never have. If you think that the imperialist masters and international monopolies care about humanity because, after all, they are also human, then good luck—you have swallowed the imperialist bait of “bringing civilization,” “spreading democracy,” and “establishing governments that respect human rights.” The cure is also difficult. Now, if you are told to look at what is happening in Gaza, you cannot, because the idea that the children there will be a danger to the “civilized world” when they grow up has been ingrained into your DNA. In that case, you easily forget and never abandon the imperialist propaganda channels that come to you.  

Being ashamed is over. They, those who have taken it upon themselves to defend Israel, have no shame.

In Gaza, not long ago, who were the ones that bombed the Palestinians who came there, by giving out the address claiming humanitarian aid had arrived, without distinguishing between child, woman, etc.? Their latest practice is to openly gun down those who arrive. The Israeli affiliates who present themselves as artists, writers, etc., shamelessly and openly say, “these children will become terrorists when they grow up, they must be killed.” And yet, after all this, it is they who claim the defense of “human rights” as their own cause. They are human beings, they have rights; and this right is the enslavement of those who are not like them and the extermination of those who advocate the revolt of slaves.

The defense of “human rights” by all Western countries is a method of defending and concealing their massacres. In their mouths, “human rights” means massacres. Have no doubt about it.

The USA brought many lies into play in order to attack Iraq. In the end, Iraq was occupied, and all these lies were admitted by American officials. Today, no matter what Iran says, it is certain that they will walk the same path. They are talking about striking Iran’s nuclear facilities. They are talking about the United States carrying this out. This is, of course, against international law, but it is also certain that they will not refrain from doing it. To assume that they will heed the warnings of Russia and China on this matter is to fail to grasp the depth of the aggression of the US and NATO side.

Their third line of defense is: “We are not actually attacking the Iranian people, we are attacking the religious-fundamentalist regime, the dictators.” According to this, Israel is making a sacrifice in the region in order to “liberate” the Iranian people. How “foolish” they are. Considering everyone foolish except themselves is a higher level of foolishness. They are doing this to conceal their own interests.

Yet perhaps this war could also end with the Israeli people overthrowing Israel’s fundamentalist-racist-fascist regime.

The Israeli government is much more fundamentalist and much more racist than the Iranian government. By using the mullah regime in Iran, lies are being told to everyone. So, it is the Israeli bombs and the American attacks that will make the Iranian people rise up, is that it? Well then, what happens if, as Israel is hit, the Israeli people decide to rise up instead of jumping onto yachts and boats to run away?

Should we oppose the Iranian regime—which of course the Iranian people are already struggling against—just for the sake of Israel’s interests? They presume; a fundamentalist Iranian regime is a dictatorship that leftists would not like. This is true. But this is not something we would listen to from Israel. This is a matter for the Iranian people’s struggle, not something to be used to cover up Israel’s aggression. Israel has committed a genocide in Gaza. Just as Hitler was “liberating” Poland, now Israel, the USA, and the West—especially England—are trying to “liberate” Iran. But we know that from the hands of these killers comes not freedom, but deeper captivity, greater slavery. We know the kind of democracy that came to Iraq; and we know the situation in Libya and Syria as well.

Imperialist domination—the war for the redivision of the world—is something far more serious than commonly assumed, and of course, it is an outright aggression. Every force that stands against this aggression deserves respect. We find those positive- even when the opposition do not rise to the level of anti-imperialist character. But we certainly salute those forms of resistance and defiance that reach an anti-imperialist level. And we know—and we repeat—that an anti-imperialist resistance, if it does not follow an anti-capitalist line, cannot represent a consistent anti-imperialist stance.

When the USA attacked Iraq in the past, we knew that Saddam was their man and that they were going into Iraq to eliminate him once he had served his purpose — and still, we opposed the US attack. Today, Iran has the right to resist the attacks of the USA, England and Israel and we find this resistance legitimate. Israel, the USA, NATO, and the entire West are aggressors. Of course, we do not support the regime in Iran, but we regard Iran’s resistance with respect and consider it as significant. Resistance against imperialist domination is essential. And of course, we care about the Iranian working class and the Iranian revolution. If the imperialist aggressors were not present, if the barons of war withdrew, if there had been no sanctions, the Iranian working class and people would reach victory much more sooner. For this reason, we never accept this war, this aggression. No imperialist power, no aggressor, no mass murderer can bring freedom to a people. In their mouths, “freedom” is the harshest form of slavery.

At this point, we also need to pay attention to the media war within the war. The bourgeois front, the entire West, for example in the Iraq war and in Libya, told unbelievable lies. They did this in Ukraine too, and they are still doing it. This is psychological warfare and it is exactly the role of the bourgeois media. 

This is also what they are doing in the war with Iran. 

Iran itself is publicly reporting its own losses. Moreover, the losses are within the upper ranks of the military and they do not hesitate to announce it immediately. But we can only see Israel’s losses through videos recorded by civilians.

X, formerly known as Twitter, does not publish any news against Israel. Certain pre-arranged sites/channels, such as “Teyit“, constantly present the news about Iran breaking through the Iron Dome as fabricated, trying to disprove it by saying it’s a video taken from a game. However, for instance, “Teyit” was founded by the Erdoğan family. After gaining trust over time by showing that some fake videos were indeed “fake,” they are now using this “prestige.” While Erdoğan reluctantly criticizes Israel, he continues to provide support behind the scenes. They have also included their own media channels in this support.

Yesterday, they were saying, “Our target is the Iranian government,” but by the fourth day of the war, they started raving that “The people of Tehran will pay the price.” On the eighth day of the war, they began saying, “The US may become directly involved in the war.” (The US is already involved in the war and will not hesitate to get further involved. That line has already been crossed. The warnings from Russia and China do not seem to be sufficient in this regard.)

Yesterday, the media was boasting that the iron dome had not been breached, and even İlhan Uzgel, a member of the CHP leadership, was saying that Israel was deliberately allowing some missiles to pass. If you support imperialist aggression, this is what you become, a “being” like Mr. Uzgel. Such Israeli, US, and NATO assets are extensively present in my country. Each of them has market values, stock exchanges, and now even “derivative transactions” are being produced from them as well. Those who spoke in this vein were forced to slow down after the third day. Those who analyzed Iran as a “paper tiger” were forced to swallow their lies on the fourth day of the war. They are presenting their commentary, which is another form of horror, to those watching the war on TV as if watching a movie. They are explaining how Iran will lose in the end.

Israel is aggressive and Iran is responding.

They waited 18 hours to respond to the first attack. We do not know the technical reasons for this. But even as the first week of the war was completed, Iran was still busy responding. In other words, the desire to escalate the war does not belong to Iran. The ones who started the war and who want to escalate it are the Israel–US–England front. Trump is talking about the US joining the war. But it has already joined, and Israel cannot carry out an attack without the US. And it is clear that it will not hesitate to go further. Netanyahu is openly telling the US, “We are actually defending you.” Zelensky, poor guy, is saying the same thing in Ukraine: “We are dying here for the US and the West,” but for some reason, people find it very funny.

Of course, the US is making preparations to become more directly involved in the battlefield. This means the further escalation of the war. The cautious stance of Russia and China will not prevent the US and England from becoming even more aggressive. This is what appears to be the case. Of course, they possess a great deal of technical knowledge on this matter. What we see is that the imperialist West does not prefer any path other than war. The US will not accept the consequences of its crumbling hegemony.

On one hand, the US says, “We are not involved in the war.” But on the other hand, it does not hesitate to say, “A bigger attack is coming.” This behavior is not just a result of Trump’s personality. A US aircraft carrier is heading to the Middle East, and reports are emerging that pose threats in this regard. Moreover, the US has withdrawn from the talks to “restore diplomatic relations” with Russia. In short, as the main actors of the war, the US and England along with France and Germany, are joining the war more openly.

On the one hand, this means that Europe will organize more aggressive attacks against Russia via Ukraine, and on the other hand, it means that the Turkish state will join the war on the side of Israel. Just as the Turkish state began the job by clearing mines on the Syrian border, it has now cleared mines on the Iranian border. The Turkish state’s desire to join the war is the desire of the US and NATO. It is clear that the Palace Regime is acting as a secret war cabinet. Therefore, the direction the war will take depends primarily on the stance of the US and NATO. There is no consistency between Erdoğan’s or the Palace Regime’s statements and their practices, nor should it be expected. The Palace Regime is using the war as a pretext to suppress any dissenting voices internally and to implement a massacre policy against the Kurds amid the chaos. There is no doubt that they are discussing the possibility of a ground operation against Iran.

Russia and China have not yet become actively involved. However, the war has further escalated. The war, which was instigated by Western imperialists to divide the world among themselves, has reached a new level with the war in Iran. Whether they want to or not, Russia and China will be forced to take sides in this war. They are the targets of this war.

Frankly, we have no technical knowledge of how much Iran can withstand or what it can do. But the war has engulfed the entire region. Iran is acting more cautiously. For example, it has not yet attacked the US bases Incirlik and Kürecik in Turkey that Israel uses, in order to block Israel’s path. Erdoğan and the Palace are already condemning Israel; they could go ahead and decide to close Kürecik and Incirlik, for instance.

We must be clear here.

This war is a war instigated by the imperialist West.

This war is part of a worldwide war.

The practices of Israel, the US, and England are clear. The practices in Gaza are obvious. A pack of killers has descended on the Middle East.

They have intervened to colonize Iran as a continuation of the process of colonizing Syria. They want to bring the entire Middle East under their control. And of course, resisting this imperialist aggression is essential. However, it must be understood that an anti-imperialist struggle that does not target capitalist domination cannot achieve victory.

This war will turn into a civil war on all sides, including the US, England, Israel, and all of Europe. We must therefore pay greater attention to the labor movement developing in every country around the world.

Which country has what kind of power over another is not a question we need to worry about too much. What we need to look at is the revolutionary line of the working class amid all these clouds of war. We need to pay attention to the development of the possibilities for revolution throughout the region. And, of course, in this process, all revolutionary movements must pay attention to each other’s development. We do not have an internationalist organization at present. Therefore, it is not an easy process for the revolutionary forces in the region to pay attention to each other’s development. But it is necessary and imperative.

No revolutionary movement ever hopes for or can hope for help from any imperialist power. The attitude of imperialist powers toward the peoples of the world and the working class is always clear. The attitude of revolutionary movements toward imperialist powers must also be clear. It is necessary to know and keep in mind that being anti-imperialist can only be consistent if it is accompanied by being anti-capitalist. The Iranian working class must both stand up to imperialist aggressors and resist colonization, as well as wage a long-term struggle against the capitalist system.

This entire war process is also having an impact in our country. The working class and laborers, as well as the youth, must reject the path of supporting the state under the false pretense of “strengthening the internal front.” The working class and revolutionaries can pave the way to overthrow war policies throughout the region by means of a socialist revolution in the country. For this reason, the United Labor Front is of great importance for the organization and struggle of the working class. A socialist revolution will both keep Turkey out of the war and develop the resistance of workers and laborers throughout the region. This should be the focus of attention. For this reason, the further development and organization of the developing resistance is not a task that can be passed over or neglected amid the clouds of war.