The International Executive Committee of the Fourth International stands with the millions of toilers among the people of Iran who have mobilised in the streets over the past several days to hail the defeat of the Iraqi invading army and the retaking of Khorramshahr by Iran. At the very outset of the war, twenty months ago, young Iranian fighters, joined by the Arab population of that region put up an heroic but unsuccessful resistance to the Iraqi occupation of their city. This led the people of Iran to rename it Khoninshahr, 'City of Blood'. Although not all Iraqi forces have yet been expelled from Iranian territory, the victory at Khoninshahr not only has the tremendous symbolic significance for the Iranian masses but also goes a long way towards breaking the back of the war by imperialism and the Iraqi regime against the Iranian revolution.
In response to these decisive military advances by Iran, the spokespersons for imperialism and pro-imperialist regimes such as those in Egypt and Saudi Arabia are warning Iran of the consequences of any move by Iranian forces into Iraqi territory. These regimes are strengthening a counter-revolutionary front aimed against the Iranian revolution.
What they actually fear is the impact which the revolution and the defeat of the counter-revolutionary Iraqi aggression will have on the class struggle throughout the region. It is for this reason that Washington and other imperialist powers, behind a smokescreen of 'neutrality', have stood behind the invasion from the outset. They viewed it as a key front in their battle to crush the revolution of the workers and peasants of Iran. As Secretary of State Alexander Haig put it this week, expressing Washington's worries over the Iraqi retreat, US 'neutrality' in the war was not the same as 'indifference'.
The imperialists fear that further advances by Iran to expel the Iraqi army and secure its borders will set off a crisis for the Saddam regime and stimulate the mobilisation of the workers and peasants of Iraq. They fear the destabilisation of the reactionary pro-imperialist rulers of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan. They fear the inspiration that will be drawn by the Palestinian people on the West Bank, in Southern Lebanon and inside the 1948 borders against Zionist repression and the Israeli drive to war.
The imperialist-backed Iraqi war brought tremendous death and destruction in its wake. Thousands of Iranian fighters were killed or mained and there are nearly 1.5 million Iranian war refugees. In conducting this reactionary war, the Saddam regime sent thousands of Iraqi youths to their deaths. Massive destruction was rained on the cities, villages, oil fields and port facilities of Iran. This destruction, combined with the drain of resources to conduct the defensive war and the imperialist economic boycott of Iran, has seriously exacerbated the living conditions of the Iranian workers and peasants. The Iranian masses responded to this attack on their revolution by repeatedly pouring into the streets, supporting the war effort and demanding actions against the hoarders, capitalists and officials who impeded this effort. They have also insisted on implementation of the broader social and economic programme previously promised by the regime and rejected its repressive measures against the workers movement. The workers and peasants have continued the fight for their own economic, social and democratic demands against the policies of the current government.
Although the imperialists have been dealt a setback, the defeat of Iraq will cause them to step up attacks on other fronts against the Iranian revolution, including their effort to topple the current government, they will continue the economic boycott of Iran and escalate military aid and cooperation with counter-revolutionary forces. In this context, the campaign of the Mujahedeen for the overthrow of the Khomeini must be rejected. It is completely incorrect to believe that any help for the cause of the workers and peasants can come from an alliance with the current represented by Bani Sadr. It is rather in the active fight against the monarchist and counterrevolutionary forces, especially in the army, and for their own demands that the Iranian masses, through their independent mobilisation, will confront the curent regime and advance along the line of march towards a workers and farmers government.
When the Iraqi invasion was launched in late 1980, the October meeting of the United Secretariat adopted a statement entitled 'Defend Iran against Iraq and imperialist attacks!' At that time, the Iraqi invasion had already stalled following initial success. The October statement concluded:
"The initial hopes of both Bagdad and imperialism for a swift victory were thwarted, thanks largely to the mobilisation of the Iranian masses against the Iraqi attack. The designs of imperialism in the region can be countered by urgently raising as widely as possible the demands:
-IRAQI TROOPS OUT NOW!
-IMPERIALISM HANDS OFF IRAN!
-FULL SUPPORT FOR THE EFFORTS OF THE IRANIAN MASSES TO DEFEAT THE HANDS OF REACTION!
-DEFEND THE IRANIAN REVOLUTION!"
Two years later, the International Executive Committee reaffirms these demands in hailing the victory over Iraq at Khoninshahr.
International Executive Committee of the FOURTH INTERNATIONAL 21 May 1982