Resisting the Oppressive Islamic Rule, Working for Revolution, Nothing Less!
Atash/Fire is the journal of the Communist Party of Iran, Marxist-Leninism-Maoist, and is available at cpimlm.org. Translations of articles have been provided by revcom.us volunteers, and posted on our site.
See listings from Atash/Fire>>
See Statements from the Communist Party of Iran >>
The International Emergency Campaign to Free Iran’s Political Prisoners Now was inspired by and formed in solidarity with the Call for unity from supporters, friends, and families of Iran’s political prisoners and the “Burn the Cage, Free the Birds” movement in Europe to free Iran’s political prisoners.
IEC articles have been reposted on revcom.us. See listing >>
The prisoner-led weekly strike is now into its 36th week, spreading to 22 different prisons in Iran. Graphic: IEC Instagram
What is the Real History of the U.S. in Iran?
The REAL History of How the U.S. Has Oppressed Iran and the Middle East—and Is NO Friend or Model for Those Wanting Liberation from an Oppressive Society
September 8, 1978, hundreds of protesters were killed or wounded by the Shah’s U.S.-backed military in Jaleh Square in Tehran. They were among the thousands killed by the Shah in cities around Iran that day.
Iranian troops in the streets, 1953.
Courageous Uprising In Iran:
How Did Things Get to This Point? Did the U.S. Have Anything to Do With It?
Many may wonder how the Iranian people came to be ruled by the violent oppressors of the Islamic Republic and what, if any, role has the U.S. played in creating the nightmare they face.
This article, written during the "Women, Life, Freedom" uprising after the outrageous murder of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini at the hands of the Islamic Republic’s “morality police,” outlines this history.
Reactionary mobs joined by the military in the streets of Tehran Iran, August 18 1953.
American Crime Case #98: 1953 CIA Coup in Iran: Torture and Repression – Made in the U.S.A.
THE CRIME: On August 19, 1953, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) along with British intelligence launched a military coup overthrowing Iran’s popular, elected prime minister, Mohammad Mossadegh. In 1951, during an upsurge of protest against British colonialism, Mossadegh had nationalized Britain’s Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. Great Britain had plundered Iran’s oil wealth for decades. Britain moved to destabilize Mossadegh’s government, including by launching an international boycott of Iranian oil. The U.S. soon joined the coup plotting, conspiring with Iran’s Mohammad Reza Shah [King] Pahlavi and the military, and orchestrating an anti-Mossadegh propaganda campaign.
U.S. President Jimmy Carter with the Shah of Iran, 1977
Background to Confrontation: The U.S. & Iran:
A History of Imperialist Domination, Intrigue and Intervention — Part 4: Iran in the 1970s: Oil Boom, Breakneck Development, Seething Discontent
For over 100 years, the domination of Iran has been deeply woven into the fabric of global imperialism, enforced by the U.S. and other powers through covert intrigues, economic bullying, military assaults, and invasions. This history provides the backdrop for U.S. hostility toward Iran today — including the real threat of war, even nuclear war.
This installment, Part 4 of revcom’s “Background to Confrontation” series from 2008 examines the actual history of what 25 years of direct U.S. involvement in — really domination of — Iran under the Shah’s reign meant for Iran and its people, and how it paved the way for the 1979 revolution and the founding of the Islamic Republic.
THE CRIME: At 9:53 on the morning of July 3, 1988, Captain Mohsen Rezaian was piloting Iran Air Flight 655, a civilian airliner on a routine flight from Bandar Abbas, 140 miles across the Persian Gulf to Dubai, normally a 28-minute flight. 290 people were aboard the plane.
Suddenly, without warning, two surface-to-air missiles launched from the U.S. warship Vincennes, 18 miles away, ripped apart his plane which then crashed into the Gulf. All aboard were killed, though only about 200 bodies could be recovered.
THE CRIME: At 10:15 pm on March 19, 2003, George W. Bush announced to the world: "At this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger."
As Bush spoke, U.S. bombs and missiles were raining on Iraq. Some 160,000 troops—overwhelmingly American—were poised to storm the country by land. Twenty-one days later, after a blitzkrieg-like invasion and some 27,000 bombs, the U.S. had seized control of Iraq's major cities. Baghdad, Iraq's capital, had fallen on April 9. Saddam Hussein's Ba'athist regime had been deposed and the U.S. took control of the country. On May 1, standing on the deck of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln in front of a giant "Mission Accomplished" banner, Bush declared "major combat operations" were over.
THE CRIME: In February 2011, in the context of the Arab Spring uprisings in neighboring Tunisia and Egypt, sections of Libyan society rose up against Muammar Qaddafi’s oppressive, 42-year-long rule. The Qaddafi regime responded by violently suppressing the protests. The U.S., France, and Britain responded by spearheading a resolution giving the United Nations authority to militarily intervene in Libya – as a “humanitarian effort.” For the next seven months, 19 NATO countries carried out massive military operations throughout Libya. They deployed aircraft carriers with warplanes, amphibious warships, torpedo jets, surveillance planes, submarines, and U.S. missile-armed Predator drones. The result: Qaddafi was overthrown and murdered, and Libya was turned into a battleground for reactionaries and Islamic fundamentalists, and a nightmare for its people which continues to this day.
Two Key Analyses from Bob Avakian on U.S. Imperialism in the Middle East and Beyond:
“Why Is Religious Fundamentalism Growing in Today’s World—And What Is the Real Alternative?”
An excerpt from Away With All Gods! Unchaining the Mind and Radically Changing the World by Bob Avakian