Following the imperialist-Zionist terrorist attack launched by the United States and Israel against Iran on February 28, hundreds of solidarity actions with Iran were organized in every corner of the world, which continues to happen. From North America to Latin America, from Europe to West Asia, and from the Arab world to the Far East, imperialist aggression was protested in the cities of many countries, and these attacks, which are dragging the world into a third world war, were denounced.
In the United States, people held large mass demonstrations in many cities, especially New York, Washington, and Los Angeles. Antiwar and left-wing organizations such as the Palestinian Youth Movement, the Black Alliance for Peace, the Democratic Socialists of America, and the ANSWER Coalition called these actions. In the streets, protesters voiced solidarity with the Iranian people and protested the attacks by the United States and Israel. In Montreal, Canada, hundreds of people took to the streets for three consecutive weeks to protest the attacks. Carrying the flags of Palestine, Iran, and Lebanon, the crowds condemned the military operations of the United States and Israel in the region and demanded an end to the bombardments of Iran and Lebanon. At the demonstration in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the crowds burned United States and Israeli flags, denounced the attacks on Iran, and condemned Washington’s imperialist intervention in West Asia (the Middle East). At the actions held in front of the United States Consulate in Mexico City, protesters also raised slogans against imperialist aggression.
In the Pacific, which stands as the main strategic target of American imperialism, voices are rising against the United States aggression. Trump called on all American allies around the world to support action against Iran, and reports that American troops stationed on Japan’s Okinawa Island had set out to attack the Strait of Hormuz sparked antiwar demonstrations in both Japan and South Korea. It is not even clear whether this report is true, yet on March 17 the South Korean people protested in front of the United States Consulate in Seoul and raised the slogan “Let us not let the warships dock.” In Tokyo, the capital of Japan, people protested on March 20 both Trump’s attacks and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who had smiled beside Trump at the White House the day before. On March 19, Takaichi had appeared alongside Trump at a joint press conference. When a journalist asked Trump, “Why didn't you tell US allies about the war before attacking Iran?” he shamelessly replied, “Who knows better about surprises than Japan? Why didn’t you tell me about Pearl Harbor?” Even though Takaichi took a deep breath and widened her eyes, she did not open her mouth to answer this humiliation. For this reason, in Japan, opposition to the war is becoming intertwined with protest against the way the United States brutally humiliates even its own allies.
But without doubt, the harshest demonstration in Asia so far took place in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city. As soon as the war began, demonstrators hurled stones and torches at the United States Consulate, and American soldiers guarding the consulate opened fire on them and killed between 10 and 16 people. In Pakistan, this once again proved beyond doubt that imperialism is the bloodstained enemy of the peoples of our region.
In Europe, actions in the United Kingdom and Finland stand out. In London on March 21, hundreds of demonstrators pointed out that the peoples of Iran, Lebanon, and Palestine celebrated Eid al Fitr under the shadow of American and Israeli bombs, while the British government continued to arm Israel in Trump’s wake. They demanded that the government completely cut all ties with Trump’s foreign policy. In Helsinki, hundreds of people joined Palestine actions in which our sister organization in Finland, MTL, the Marxist Workers League, also took part. There, antiwar slogans came to the fore and people organized marching demonstrations. On March 28, our comrades in Finland will lead a major action in front of the United States Consulate under the slogan “Hands off Iran!” Many Palestinian and Arab diaspora organizations are also supporting the action. Our sister organization in Greece, EEK, the Revolutionary Workers Party, is also organizing a strong action on March 28 against the United States attack on Iran under the call for an “International Day Against War and Racism”. Our comrades in EEK are raising calls to close the United States bases in Greece and Cyprus, dismantle NATO, and secure victory for the resistance in Palestine, Lebanon, and Iran.
In Turkey, as soon as the war began, the Revolutionary Workers Party (DIP) organized an action in front of the United States Consulate in Istanbul and demanded that Turkey leave NATO, close the imperialist bases, especially İncirlik and Kürecik, seize American assets in Turkey, and nationalize American capital under workers control. At the action, the party also called on Turkey to leave the Customs Union, ban the dollar, repudiate the foreign debt, impose a full embargo on Israel, and carry out an economic, diplomatic, cultural, and academic boycott. At the same time, the party stressed that people must expand economic and diplomatic solidarity with Iran against United States and Israeli aggression. As revolutionaries in Turkey, standing shoulder to shoulder with our comrades from all over the world, we will continue to fight with all our strength against the imperialist-Zionist aggression directed at our region.