By Miguel Sorans, a leader of the IWU-FI.
15 April 2024. Suddenly the media and networks managed or influenced by pro-Israeli governments and Zionism stopped talking about Gaza to focus on Iran’s attack. Since Saturday 13 April there has been a debate about whether there will be an Israel-Iran war or not and all kinds of hypotheses. But there was silence on the genocide by bombing and famine that Israel and its apartheid regime are perpetrating.
This is what Israel wanted when on April 1, it surprisingly bombed the Iranian consulate in Damascus, the capital of Syria, killing eight people, including senior Iranian military commanders. It might have been difficult to understand what the attack was about. The situation has become much clearer now. The background was the situation in Gaza. The provocation by Netanyahu’s government aimed to distract from the Gaza massacre and secure allies’ support. They wanted to stop the growing criticism and demands of Biden and the leaders of European imperialism to accept a ceasefire. Growing protests pressure imperialist bosses to support the Palestinian people.
For a few days, Israel and the US have achieved that goal. But they will not get very far, because it is like trying to cover the sun with one hand.
Israel set up this provocation because it was at its worst in Gaza and increasingly isolated in the world. Six months after the invasion, despite the destruction and its massive crimes, it cannot claim victory. Biden has been criticising Netanyahu for the bombing of the humanitarian convoy and for his intention to make a military incursion in Rafah. Massive marches in Israel demand Netanyahu’s resignation and elections due to unresolved hostage situation.
Netanyahu successfully stops the questioning of his actions in Gaza by getting Biden and his allies to join Israel in repudiating Iran. It also stops the mobilisations and questioning inside Israel. And, finally, that the world revolves around this and the genocide in Gaza is ignored or minimised.
But all this only highlights the crisis of Zionism and the crisis of US imperialism. Biden himself and his administration have declared that they will not accompany an Israeli military response to Iran’s attack and that “we are not seeking a wider war with Iran”. Once again, showing their friction and differences with Israel. And Iran said it considered “The case was closed”, with its action. Both are showing that neither the US nor Iran would now want to embark on a regional war. Biden, least of all, would want to embark on a regional war, especially when there is already a war in Ukraine and complications arising from their support for Israeli genocide. This is particularly sensitive as it is an election year in the US, and there is growing rejection of Biden because of his military and political support for Israel against the Palestinian people.
Regarding Iran, we recognise its right to defend itself against the criminal attack of Zionism. And we repudiate any Zionist or imperialist aggression. What we can point out is that unfortunately the theocratic, authoritarian regime of Iran neither mentions the Palestinian people nor the genocide in Gaza in its statements. This reaffirms that effective support for the Palestinian people is not at the centre of its policy. In these six months of Zionist invasion, it has only made statements of solidarity and some isolated actions. Its action on Israel was too limited, to the point of giving two days’ notice to the USA. While Israel’s attack on Damascus was not warned to anybody, not even to the USA. This gave time for the Zionist and imperialist defences to be prepared to repel the drone and ballistic missile attack. In its communiques, the Iranian regime showed that its action was “sufficient” and that it considered the case “closed”. Not a word about Gaza and the Palestinian people. But nothing is closed in Gaza. Despite the silence of these days, the struggle of the Palestinian people and their suffering continues.
If Israel ignores the US and makes another military attack on Iran, which we cannot rule out, it will be as part of its desperation and failure in Gaza.
Which, if it happens, would only deepen its crisis and global isolation. This would continue to put the apartheid regime on the ropes. We must reject any new aggression against Iran as part of the fight against apartheid and to support the Palestinians.
For all these reasons, from the IWU-FI, we denounce this attempt to cover up the struggle and the genocide in the Gaza Strip. We continue to call on the peoples of the world to continue to express in the streets their unconditional solidarity with the Palestinian resistance. We demand that the Zionist troops leave and that the governments of the world break all relations with the Zionist state of Israel.
