28th February 2026
Smoke rises from buildings in Tehran following Israeli strikes
Caught between the rock of a theocratic dictatorship and the hard place of US imperialism, fronted by an expansionist Israel, the Iranian people once again find themselves victims of a conflict they did not choose and do not desire.
Israeli attacks upon Iran, backed by the biggest United States military build up in the Middle East for decades, have been launched against Tehran and other key Iranian cities. Israeli Defence Minister, Israel Katz, has described the attacks as a “pre-emptive strikes” though quite what the attacks are alleged to be pre-empting is not made clear.
Following widespread demonstrations across Iran in December and January, the past week saw protests break out across universities to commemorate those killed in the protests earlier in the year. The pressure inside the country for change continues to mount but leaders of solidarity organisation CODIR feared that the Iranian leadership were not acting in the best interests of the Iranian people in the current talks and that the continued US military build up posed a significant threat.
“Neither the US nor Iran are showing any signs of movement in their positions in the negotiations,” said CODIR General Secretary, Gawain Little, earlier this week. “The talks are stalled at the point of talking about generalities, rather than getting down to specifics. Meanwhile the build up of US military in the region continues and the threat of war gets closer.”
Indications from mediators close to the negotiations that some progress was being made and technical talks would begin on Monday, have been blown apart by the Israeli strikes. The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) statement that the current operation has been planned for months gives the lie to any claim by the US that talks were happening in good faith. Ther IDF have also stated that there will be at least four days of attacks as part of the current violation of international law.
US President, Donald Trump had previously signalled that a “limited military strike” on Iran may be the first step towards further escalation as US forces are reportedly preparing for a “weeks long” military intervention. Since the attack Trump has indicated that the US has launched “major combat operations” in Iran. The US remains fixed upon Iran agreeing to a reduction in its nuclear enrichment potential, which Iran insists is for purely civilian purposes. However, the US and Israel are also keen to reduce Iran’s ballistic missile capability.
In a speech preceding the attacks Trump indicated that Iranians should stay in their homes as missiles would be falling everywhere, as close to a declaration of war as is possible without using the actual words.
The US President has also made no secret of his desire for regime change saying recently that this would be “the best thing that could happen” in Iran, a view echoed by the criminal regime in Tel Aviv. This was made clear by Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu who has stated that “a short time ago, Israel and the United States embarked on an operation to remove the existential threat posed by the terrorist regime in Iran.”
The dangers of any military intervention spreading across the region are significant and would be catastrophic for the people of Iran and the wider Middle East. US regime change interventions elsewhere in the region, in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria for example have not benefitted the people of those countries and there is the danger that Iran could be the latest calamity to add to this long list. Creating a failed state which can be exploited by US corporations appears to be part of the agenda for the US.
“CODIR is completely opposed to the ongoing US/Israeli attack on Iran”, said Gawain Little, “This is outright imperialism and an attempt at regime change. We maintain our longstanding support for the Iranian people’s struggle and condemn the cynical use of this by the US and Israel. You cannot support a people by bombing them.”
Progressive forces inside the country are continuing to call for the end to the dictatorship and opposition to external intervention.
CODIR will continue to provide support and solidarity with those progressive forces on the basis of the people’s demand for peace, democracy and social justice.
Find out more at www.coddir.net
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