As the U.S. administration’s threats against Iran escalate, everyone knows the potential consequences of this deadly strategy. The clique of warmongers preparing to bomb Iran is almost completely isolated on the international stage. Even the foreign minister of the UK, Washington’s most faithful ally, has called for “urgent de-escalation” of regional tensions. Unfortunately, Canada’s voice is absent from this chorus of caution, since PM Justin Trudeau and Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland refuse to oppose the White House’s course.
Recent events show a clear pattern of build-up towards aggression, especially since the appointment of John Bolton as National Security Advisor. In May 2018, Donald Trump unilaterally backed out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the Iran nuclear deal negotiated by the U.S., the UN Security Council, Germany and the EU. Sanctions were re-imposed on Iran (setting set the stage for the illegal arrest on Canadian soil of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou). In April, Trump declared Iran’s military, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to be a terrorist organization, and then imposed penalties against countries which were adhering to international law by purchasing Iranian oil. Next came the deployment of a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group and Air Force bombers, plus 1500 additional troops to the Middle East. Trump declared an emergency over Iran, allowing the White House to circumvent Congress, and move ahead with arms sales to Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. Soon after, four tankers were attacked in the Persian Gulf, under mysterious circumstances. Almost every day, the U.S. ratchets up military tensions, while occasionally Donald Trump appears to step back slightly, to look “statesmanlike.”
The story resembles the Bush administration’s preparations for the disastrous 2003 war against Iraq: plenty of finger-pointing and wild claims of a “threat”, U.S. troop movements and build-ups, phony public relations gestures, all calculated to make war appear inevitable and even necessary, the sooner the better. Underlying these campaigns, the interests of U.S. imperialism are the real danger – the drive for a world in which all resistance has been crushed so that transnational corporations can squeeze every drop of profits from the workers and resources of every continent.
This time, the stakes are even higher. A U.S war against Iran would set the entire region ablaze for years, even decades. Any possibility of serious global action against climate change and economic inequalities would literally go up in smoke. We cannot remain observers; every act of protest and resistance against this madness is crucial!
