Progressives in Iran and the US must connect horizontally to resist militarism as our leaders escalate their threats.
by Frieda Afary, Truthout
There has been much talk of the possibility of a regional war in the Middle East ever since Hamas’s brutal assault on Israel on October 7, 2023, and Israel’s genocidal invasion of Gaza, in the context of a U.S. administration not willing to call for an immediate ceasefire.
As an Iranian American socialist feminist activist with ties to activists in Iran, the U.S., Israel and Palestine, these developments have horrified me both because of the sheer brutality and loss of innocent human lives, and because of the stifling of the voices of genuine progressives.
A broader war may be upon us with the February 2 U.S. military strikes against Iranian forces and Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria, which killed 39 including civilians, and the February 7 U.S. strikes in Baghdad, which killed a senior leader of an Iranian-backed militia and two of his escorts. The latest U.S. strikes are a response to a drone attack by Iranian-backed Iraqi militias on a U.S. base in Jordan that killed three U.S. soldiers and injured dozens. The Iranian government has in turn warned of a counterretaliation.
The U.S. and Britain have also launched a new round of strikes on Houthi militias in Yemen in response to Houthi attacks on commercial and military ships in the Red Sea. The Houthis in turn claim that they have launched their attacks in solidarity with the Palestinians.
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