The Party of Labour of Iran (Toufan)- Statement on Recent Events in Iran

Protests in Iran

Forty-three years ago, in a great revolution, the people of Iran overthrew the U.S. puppet regime of the Shah. 

The February 1979 revolution in Iran removed imperialist domination from the country and achieved the political independence of Iran. Since that date, U.S. imperialists and the major NATO counties have been making every effort to divide and destroy Iran. The strategy of imperialism is that there should be no country in the region that can stand against Israel. 

The regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran is a backward and reactionary regime. During the time of the Shah, the clergies were given propaganda and organizational resources that benefitted the interests of the West and that could be used as weapons against communism. During the revolutionary upheaval in Iran, the clergies were practically the only force capable of seizing the struggles of the people, who hated the Shah's regime and the U.S.  and British imperialists.

By implementing the neoliberal policies of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the capitalist regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran, backed by internal pro-West forces in the government, spread poverty and unemployment in Iran. As a result of such policies, the class gap in Iran widened to such a degree that more than half of the people now struggle to feed themselves.

The suppression of democratic rights, especially the suppression of women, symbolised in the policy of mandatory hijab, was high up on the regime’s agenda. With the establishment of the offensive “Guidance Patrol - Morality Police,” a huge resistance was mobilized. All the demands of the workers, retirees, teachers, and other sections of society are being suppressed. The capitalist regime of the Islamic Republic prevents labourers from establishing trade unions that would enable them to express their concerns regarding poor wages and working conditions. Iran's prisons have been crowded by leaders of workers’ and teachers’ movements.

The inhumane sanctions by the imperialists have worsened the situation in Iran. Every day, dozens of “Mehsa Aminis” are killed as a consequence of these sanctions. The imperialists and "revolutionary" defenders of the sanctions continue to operate without a conscience. 

The rebellion in Iran today is the product of the economic and repressive policies of the capitalist regime of the Islamic Republic.

This is not the first time in the last forty-three years in Iran that a woman has been killed in a conflict with the regime or in prison. But this time, the accumulated anger of the people during the forty-three years rule of the Islamic Republic was released. The people resorted to violence in the fight against the regime. 

The murder of Mahsa Amini is insignificant to the imperialists and their Iranian mercenaries. But the imperialists have made connection between the issue of Mahsa Amini and the war in Ukraine.  Iran plays a decisive role in the construction of the Silk Road and helps to defeat NATO economic sanctions on Russia. Iran is an important pillar in the delivery of equipment, supplies, and goods needed by Russia through the Oman Sea and the Indian Ocean. The fate of the war in Ukraine is highly dependent on the destruction of the Russian allies. For this reason, the flags of Ukraine, Israel, and the USA are used in the global protests against Iran. What is the point of carrying crossed-out pictures of Russian and Chinese leaders and slogans against them in denouncing the murder of Mehsa Amini? 

The understandable and spontaneous rebellion that took place in Iran was a consequence of the accumulated people's anger. It was against the Guidance Patrol, in favour of punishment for those responsible for the murder of Mehsa Amini, and an advocate for other democratic and just demands. The rebellion turned into violent clashes within a short period of time. Unfortunately, the lack of leadership of this rebellion inside Iran provided an opportunity for counter-revolutionary and cyberspace activists outside the country to abuse the people's struggles. The counter-revolutionary Iranians abroad, including supporters of the West, opponents of Iran’s assistance to China and Russia in the construction of the Silk Road, supporters of the former Shah, the terrorist sect of the People's Mujahideen, which operates under the supervision of the United States and Israel and Saudi Arabia in Tirana, succeeded in inciting large protests abroad. They were aided by massive NATO propaganda and with the pretext of the murder of the beloved Mahsa Amini. 

Protests abroad

The demonstration that was held in Berlin on October 22, 2022, was carried out with the help of the European Union and NATO. It was reactionary and anti-Iran by our assessment. Many protesters were deceived by the one-sided and widespread propaganda of the Western media. Yet, they were mobilized and organized enough to travel to Berlin at the cost of ten million euros. The nature of this demonstration was reactionary and counter-revolutionary. There were similar demonstrations globally with the same reactionary nature. Imperialism and its Iranian mercenaries are planning to stage similar reactionary shows at great expense and fanfare in Brussels.

The policy of imperialism is to interfere in Iran's internal affairs. The policy is designed to exploit people's discontent for their own interests and to keep the protests ignited even though they are scattered and confined to young people, especially university students inside and outside of Iran. Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the United States give millions of dollars to anti-Iranian media in London. Examples of this include "Manoto—I and You" and "Iran International", propaganda initiatives, which are engaged in spreading fake news and encouraging people to arm themselves and to assassinate regime agents. Their goal is not to realize the rights of women or the demands of workers in Iran. Instead, it is to create insecurity, unrest, and civil war in order to provide the Syrian scenario in Iran and to prepare the ground for invasion. Encouraging and strengthening lumpen elements in Iran and abroad and beating critics are on their agenda now. The police of imperialist countries support these degenerate elements.

As always, our Party defends popular protests to realize rightful demands, and we will fight against their abuse by Iran's enemies, who have no interest in freedom. Our demands, which are expressed in our independent protests, are as follows.

Equal social rights for men and women;

The release of all political prisoners;

The abolishment of the “Guidance Patrol - Morality Police”;

The abolishment of the policy of mandatory hijab;

Progressives must condemn the inhumane sanctions on Iran as imperialist crimes against humanity.

Imperialist threats and preparation for a "humanitarian" invasion of Iran must be condemned as war crimes.

We defend the territorial integrity of Iran.

The Party of Labour of Iran (Toufan) is of the opinion that the fate of every nation should be determined by the people of the nation, itself. Therefore, we desire the overthrow of the capitalist regime of the Islamic Republic only by the concerted activities of the Iranian people and for the goal of securing the rights of the majority and especially the rights of the working class.

The Party of Labour of Iran (Toufan)

October 26, 2022