The air was surcharged with war tension for long. And now the war has broken out. It is not a war between two sides eager to buttress their respective narrow sectarian self-interests. It is a war of aggression, unprovoked, uncalled for. Zionist Israeli rulers in league with their big brother, US imperialism, suddenly launched a military attack on Iran. In fact, the US was engaged in indirect nuclear talks mediated by Oman in Geneva for six long hours on 26 February and there was a lot riding on those negotiations. According to Oman’s foreign minister, there was “significant progress” in high-stakes nuclear talks and the two sides planned to resume negotiations “soon” after consultations in their respective capitals, and technical-level discussions would take place in the following week in Vienna. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who led his country’s delegation, also endorsed that view. As per Iranian state media, negotiators insisted that Iran had the right to peaceful nuclear energy and rejected US demands to completely stop the enrichment of uranium in Iranian territory and to transfer its stockpile of 400kg (880lb) of enriched uranium out of the country. But Iranian officials are believed to have offered concessions, although the proposals were not made public.
US-Israel Triggered the War
But then suddenly, on 28 February 2026, Israel and US began a series of aerial strikes against Iran targeting the country’s leadership, security forces and nuclear programme and missile sites. They said they aimed to induce regime change in Iran and to address concerns regarding its nuclear programme. Apart from the targeted killing of the top leadership including Ayatollah Ali Khomeini, the Supreme Iranian leader, the strikes caused both military and civilian casualties in Iran. In response, Iran had launched a series of counter-strikes against Israel and US military bases in the region, and military and civilian locations in Arab states that house US forces. And thus, a full-fledged war ensued setting all of the Middle East on fire. It bears recall that under Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state is prohibited. The only recognized exceptions are (1) Security Council authorization under Chapter VII, and (2) self-defense under Article 51 in response to an armed attack. But this time, the Security Council did not invoke Article 51 to give a free pass to US for resorting to force without UN authorization. Secretary-General António Guterres, who generally prefers to minimize friction with the Council’s veto-wielding powers, noted that opportunities for diplomacy with Iran over its nuclear programme had been “squandered”. While addressing the Security Council meeting, Guterres called out what he said was a “blatant act of aggression” by the US and Israel against Iran. He said it was an “illegal violation” of the UN charter. But at the same time, he also condemned the retaliatory actions by Iran, as if Iran has no right to defend its security and sovereignty. It once again shows that UN has virtually become a rubber of stamp of war-monger US. As on date, the war is escalating inflicting extensive casualties both in military and civilian sectors. However, Iran has tendered apology to its neighboring middle-east countries for suffering some casualties for its retaliatory missile and drone attack in the US bases situated there and promised no further military action on any of those territories unless there is any attack from any of them.
Second Attack by US on Iran in Six Months
For the second time in eight months, Israel and the US bombed Iran even as diplomatic negotiations were going on. US had earlier attacked Iranian nuclear and military sites in June 2025 in a war which lasted for 12 days. This time, Iran in the ongoing negotiations had made great concessions and was reportedly on the verge of even promising that it would abstain for good from building nuclear weapons: and just at such a juncture US started a so-called pre-emptive war. So, taking part in a bipartite talk was camouflage. The real intention was to make Iran completely surrender to US whims and hence has been the attack.
Why is Iran Targeted?
It can be noticed that immediately after launching a war of aggression against Iraq on a fraudulent pretext, US imperialists had branded Iran as a ‘rogue state’ and a constituent of, what they called, the ‘axis of evils’ the other two being socialist Cuba and North Korea. Right from then, they have been weaving one after another ploy to bend the Iranian regime to their diktats. By managing to elicit approval of pliant UNO, the US imperialist rulers had imposed stringent economic sanctions on it and strengthening their military cordon around it. From then onwards, they have been accusing Iran of developing nuclear capabilities on a higher scale so much so as to be close to producing atomic bombs which, according to them, pose threat to peace and security in West Asia. This time also US President Trump had said to an US media house that “The heavy and pinpoint bombing, however, will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective of peace throughout the Middle-east and, indeed, the World.” He further added that all he wants “is freedom for the people” of Iran. Incredible paradox! US aggresses foreign countries, orchestrates regime change in foreign lands through subversive activities, abducts elected presidents of other countries wielding military might, precipitates civil war in another land by planting agents—but it is no threat to world peace. Only a country which refuses to grovel at its feet poses danger to peace.
Every Country has Right to Self-Defence
In such a backdrop, what alternative the countries like Iran who are under constant threat of being overrun by the US-led imperialists, have other than resorting to development of weapons for self-defence? From Iraq in 2003 to Libya in 2011, the US imperialists have repeatedly assumed that decapitation and infrastructural destruction would trigger political collapse favourable to their interests. So, they assassinated Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Khomeini riding on the inputs of their espionage network. The killing of Iran’s supreme leader by the US Israel duo crossed a threshold that compelled Iran to response. How can such a move on the part of these countries be called illegitimate or “threat to world peace”, which US is saying to justify its own war crimes while trampling underfoot all international and even national laws, as every country has inherent right to defend its sovereignty and freedom by whatever means that are necessary? No country is safe today. The prowling paw of the US imperialists and their associates can be extended to any country, any time. “Submit supinely or perish”— such is fiat of the US imperialists.
Militarization of Economy
Apart from grabbing the vast oil resources, there are other reasons also for the US rulers to unleash a war against Iran and other West Asian countries. In order to somehow stave off the acute insoluble market crisis endemic of capitalist economy, the US imperialists and for that matter all imperialist powers, big or small, are compelled to resort to frantic rearmament and militarization of industry so that increased military consumption to some extent artificially stimulates the sagging economy. More militarized is the economy, more rabidly world imperialism led by US imperialists is precipitating war on others. Another vital economic aspect is that US dollar, as we know, is required by every oil-importing country. This is the reason why the central banks of most of these countries keep their foreign exchange reserves in US dollars. Thus, more dollars are circulated outside the US or invested by foreign owners in US assets. Consequently, the rest of the world has to provide the US with more goods and services in exchange for these dollars. The US can pay its debt to other countries just by printing its own money. This very special status of the dollar is threatened with some of the key oil producing countries switching over from dollar to Euro and other currencies for trade in oil and gas. Iraq wanted to do the same just before it was invaded. But Iran dared to move out of its dependency on the US dollar for its energy revenue when it faced sanctions in 2006 and thus considerably undermined the demand for US dollar in the world market. The US imperialists fear that if other oil-exporting countries follow suit, consequences will be disastrous for them.
Pertinent to mention here that as Comrade Shibdas Ghosh, Founder General Secretary of the SUCI(C) and an outstanding Marxist thinker of the era pointed out six decades back, that the imperialists-capitalists are trying “…to stave off the crisis and maintain the boom of the capitalist market, at least temporarily, by artificial stimulation of increased military consumption. But far from easing the situation, militarism is aggravating the capitalist contradictions and crisis further still. And the more acute the crisis, the more militarized is becoming the economy.” (SW Vol II). Militarization leads to the stockpile of arms; arms race and hence war.
Modern warfare triggered by world imperialism led by US imperialists has three objectives—
- Clearance of the stockpile of arms,
- Exhibition of possession of sophisticated arms and
- To bully a foreign land into subjugation by wielding military power.
So, more often than not, the imperialists are generating wars, local or partial or large-scale, on a sustained basis. Right now, Ukraine, Palestine and Yemen are facing that after Syria. The present monstrous attack of US and Israel on Iran is also a vivid example of that.
US is the Biggest Terrorist and War-Monger State
To those closely observing world events and possessing a broad democratic outlook, it is not very difficult to understand the motive of the US imperialists. The powerful socialist camp which, notwithstanding the many limitations and shortcomings it suffered from when revisionist leadership had usurped power first in Soviet Union after Stalin’s demise and then in China after Mao Zedong’s demise, continued to be a bulwark of peace against war and war-mongering. But in its absence the US imperialists have arrogated to themselves the role of an international gendarme authorized to dominate the entire world like an emperor.
Equipped with most advanced nuclear armory and modern sophisticated weaponry of mass destruction, US today is the biggest terrorist state in the world. This nuclear supremacy is providing the US imperialists the audacity to thump around, intimidate others and carry out bedlam and butchery at will. It is the US imperialist state which poses greatest threat to world peace, civilization and mankind today.
Indian PM’s Bonhomie with Zionist Israel
What is most glaring is how Indian PM, an apostle of ruling Indian monopolists, visiting Israel few days before war was imposed on Iran, not only signed many arms deals with Zionist Israeli regime but even called Israel a fatherland! And that after Israel has slaughtered nearly 1 lakh people in Gaza. It did not hesitate to open fire on starving women and children even who thronged at the relief centres to gather a morsel. Such arch criminals and butchers are hailed by the Indian PM as “fathers”. Significantly, neither PM Modi nor the Indian government has so far made any comment on this war imposed on Iran. It implies that Indian imperialists are bent upon siding with the US lobby too.
Thwart this Unbridled Gangsterism of US Imperialists and their Allies
Should every country succumb to this threat? Should the toiling people of the world remain silent if their respective rulers meekly surrender to such felonious aggression? Surely not. This murderous run must be stopped. Even when the US-led imperialist powers are armed with modern lethal arms, people of the world are not altogether powerless. People have in their hands at least one weapon to protect themselves, to safeguard their sovereignty i.e. their invincible ideological power based on which it is needed to develop round the world broad-based powerful well-knit anti-imperialist movements involving all sections of toiling and patriotic democratic-minded people with genuine communists as the core. This will invariably give birth to people’s own political power. Hence, the anti-imperialist movements in the different countries need to be properly coordinated so that a mighty militant global people’s movement can develop worldwide against imperialism, particularly US imperialism and the tremendous power of this movement ought to be transformed into decisive political power of the people. If such movement grows, based on correct revolutionary ideology, that will constitute the invincible weapon in the hands of the suffering people to beat back the US imperialist war mongers and frustrate all their sinister machinations to overpower others. Alongside building up organized sustained democratic legitimate movements under correct revolutionary leadership in various countries against the respective oppressive bourgeois rules through formation of people’s struggle committees and volunteer corps right from the grass root level, it is imperative that toiling people come forward to develop this history-ordained anti-imperialist movement. It needs to be realized that freeing the world from the curse of war and nuclear weapons lies in strengthening worldwide powerful people’s movement and force the US-led imperialists under pressure of that movement to agree to total disarmament including destruction of nuclear armory. Let us not forget that this is not merely another Middle Eastern war. It is an episode in the ongoing attempt to provide a lease of life to gasping imperialist-capitalist system bestriding the world like a dead weight needing to be uprooted in right earnest.
