Iran
US navy prepared for war against Iran
By Peter Symonds, 14 February 2012
The remarks of Admiral Fox contain a barely concealed warning that the US navy was “ready today” to attack Iran.
US and Israel in “lockstep” against Iran
By Peter Symonds, 8 February 2012
While publicly calling for a “diplomatic solution,” the White House is coordinating closely with Israel as it prepares military strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Israel threatens war against Iran within months
By Peter Symonds, 4 February 2012
While the Obama administration has cautioned against Israeli military action, there is no indication that Washington has vetoed such an attack.
American intelligence agencies, media stoke war drive against Iran
By Alex Lantier, 2 February 2012
Provocative testimony by US intelligence agencies has become the focus of a hysterical media campaign accusing Iran of posing a terrorist threat to the US.
The New York Times and the drive to war against Iran
By Barry Grey, 31 January 2012
The New York Times on Sunday published a lengthy article in its weekly magazine that sympathetically and clinically lays out the arguments of Israeli policy makers in favor of a military attack on Iran sometime this year.
US military preparations for war on Iran
By Peter Symonds, 31 January 2012
Iran has repeatedly denied plans to build a nuclear weapon, but that has not stopped the barrage of unsubstantiated allegations in the media.
Israel prepares for war against Iran
By Peter Symonds, 27 January 2012
The Israeli political and military establishment is preparing to attack Iran, and pushing the US to advance its own plans for war.
European Union imposes oil embargo on Iran
By Peter Symonds, 24 January 2012
The EU sanctions are an act of economic war that heightens the danger of a slide into military hostilities.
US, Israel coordinate strategy against Iran
By Peter Symonds, 20 January 2012
The visit by America’s top general to Israel takes place amid a growing debate in both countries over an attack on Iran.
Economic, military pressures on Iran escalate global tensions
By Bill Van Auken, 18 January 2012
The march towards sweeping economic sanctions against Iran together with continuing military threats against the country from both the US and Israel are ratcheting up global tensions to an increasingly dangerous level.
Washington’s crimes against Iran
By Peter Symonds, 16 January 2012
Despite Washington’s denials, last week’s assassination of an Iranian scientist bears all the hallmarks of an Israeli operation, carried out in league with the US.
US doubles aircraft carriers near the Persian Gulf
By Peter Symonds, 14 January 2012
The provocative decision heightens the danger of war with Iran as the US moves aggressively to impose a de facto embargo on Iranian oil exports.
Iran’s Green Opposition endorses imperialist intervention in Syria
By Sahand Avedis, 13 January 2012
As the Western powers threaten to intervene in Syria, the Iranian “Green” opposition is denouncing the Iranian regime for refusing to back pro-Western Syrian protesters.
Iranian nuclear scientist assassinated in Tehran
By Alex Lantier, 12 January 2012
Iranian nuclear scientist Professor Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, aged 32, was killed yesterday in a bomb blast in Tehran.
US renews military threat against Iran
By Peter Symonds, 11 January 2012
The sharp rise in tensions in the Persian Gulf follows steps by the US and Europe to impose an embargo on Iranian oil exports that would ruin the country’s economy.
David N. Gibbs, historian and author, discusses threat of US war against Iran
By Barry Grey, 7 January 2012
The World Socialist Web Site interviewed David N. Gibbs, professor of history at the University of Arizona and author of a 2009 book on the Kosovo War, about US war threats against Iran.
EU oil embargo heightens tensions in the Gulf
By Peter Symonds, 6 January 2012
The European move dovetails with President Obama’s signing on Saturday of US legislation designed cripple the Iranian banking system and cut the country’s oil exports.
2012 opens with mounting war threat in Persian Gulf
By Peter Symonds, 4 January 2012
Once again an American administration is using unsubstantiated claims about nuclear weapons to create the political climate for a reckless military adventure.
US threatens war in the Persian Gulf
By Peter Symonds, 31 December 2011
Having provoked Tehran with legislation for an oil embargo, the US is threatening Iran with military action if it retaliates by shutting down the Strait of Hormuz.
US menaces Iran over Strait of Hormuz
By Peter Symonds, 30 December 2011
The growing tensions in the Persian Gulf are the result of provocative steps by the US and its European allies towards blocking Iranian oil exports.
US covert operations threaten war with Iran
By Chris Marsden, 10 December 2011
The United States is waging a sustained covert campaign of destabilisation against Iran.
US spy drone downed in Iran
By Oliver Campbell, 7 December 2011
The incident is another piece of evidence pointing to a mounting campaign of aggressive covert operations by the US and Israel against Iran.
Protesters storm British embassy in Tehran over new sanctions
By Oliver Campbell, 1 December 2011
Tuesday’s protests reflect the escalation of tensions between the Iranian regime and the major powers, led by the US.
Huge explosion at Iranian missile base kills top general
By Peter Symonds, 16 November 2011
While Tehran dismissed the blast as an accident, indications have emerged that it was an act of sabotage carried out by Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad.
IAEA dossier heightens danger of war against Iran
By Peter Symonds, 10 November 2011
As in the war against Iraq, the latest allegations about Iranian weapons of mass destruction are nothing but a threadbare pretext for further aggression against Tehran, including further sanctions and ultimately military attack.
US/Britain prepare for war against Iran
By Peter Symonds, 4 November 2011
The war plans are not being driven by concerns over Iran’s nuclear program but by deepening inter-imperialist rivalry, fuelled by the worsening global economic crisis.
Washington and Iran: The reckless policy of provocation
By Bill Van Auken, 14 October 2011
With the fabricated allegations of an Iranian “terror plot,” US imperialism is seeking to advance its global interests by means of provocations and threats of military aggression.
US steps up sanctions and threats against Iran over alleged terror plot
By Bill Van Auken, 13 October 2011
The White House announced new sanctions against Iran, while Vice President Biden warned that “nothing has been taken off the table” in the US response to an alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington.
Obama administration alleges Iranian terrorist plot
By Peter Symonds, 12 October 2011
The claims could provide the pretext for a dramatic escalation of punitive US measures against Iran over a range of issues.
Case of jailed Americans highlights infighting in Iranian regime
By Peter Symonds, 20 September 2011
As the country’s economic and social crisis has deepened, a political struggle has opened up between Iranian President Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Khamenei.
Iran’s Green Protests: Elite power struggle intensifies as Supreme Leader nears death
By Sahand Avedis, 8 March 2011
In the midst of an historic uprising of the working class in North Africa and the Middle East directed against the region’s authoritarian US-backed regimes, Iran’s rightwing Green opposition has failed to relaunch itself.
Iran and the Egyptian revolution
By Bill Van Auken, 16 February 2011
The government of Iran, the right-wing Green Movement opposition and the Obama administration in Washington have all sought to invoke the developments in Egypt to further interests that have nothing to do with this revolutionary upsurge.
International talks over Iran’s nuclear program collapse
By Peter Symonds, 24 January 2011
The chief focus of US efforts to tighten sanctions is not so much Iran, but China, which has become the target of an aggressive campaign to undermine its influence internationally.
Cables expose US-Israeli war talks
By Bill Van Auken, 5 January 2011
US diplomatic cables quoted by the Norwegian daily Aftenposten expose discussions between US legislators and Israeli officials on preparations for the next Middle East war.
Iran imposes huge increases in fuel and food prices
By Keith Jones, 24 December 2010
Iran’s government has imposed massive hikes in the prices of subsidized goods and services, including gasoline, diesel, natural gas, electricity, water and flour. The price hikes, which came into effect last Sunday, are the first stage in what is now expected to be a two-step elimination of the government’s more than $100 billion price-subsidy program.
Iranian filmmaker sentenced to six years in jail
By Richard Phillips, 23 December 2010
Iranian authorities have framed up acclaimed filmmaker Jafar Panahi who now faces six years’ jail and is banned from making films, writing scripts, giving interviews or travelling abroad for the next 20 years.
Leaked cables show Australian intelligence discounted Iranian threat
By James Cogan, 16 December 2010
Diplomatic cables sent to Washington by the US embassy in Canberra reveal that Australian intelligence agencies were concerned that Israel would exploit Iran’s alleged nuclear program to start a war.
US and Israel use sabotage and assassinations to thwart Iran’s nuclear program
By Keith Jones, 14 December 2010
The recent assassination of a scientist on the streets of Teheran is part of an escalating campaign of murder and sabotage mounted by the US and its allies against Iran’s nuclear program.
New WikiLeaks revelations confirm
Obama administration targets Iran for aggression
By Patrick Martin, 30 November 2010
The Obama administration has devoted enormous attention and effort to a worldwide campaign to destabilize Iran and open the way to direct military aggression, the latest mass of documents released by WikiLeaks confirms.
Mounting US war threats against Iran
By Bill Van Auken, 8 November 2010
Leading Republican Senator Lindsey Graham signaled a turn following the midterm elections toward the escalation of US threats against Iran, calling for an all-out war that would “neuter” the country.
US tightens economic blockade of Iran
By Peter Symonds, 8 October 2010
The Obama administration is using the threat of US penalties to ramp up the pressure on banks, companies and governments internationally to cut economic ties with Iran.
Obama threatens Iran
By Alex Lantier, 6 August 2010
At a White House briefing Wednesday, President Obama personally joined the growing chorus of war threats against Iran coming from Washington and its allies.
EU, Australia and Canada impose tough sanctions on Iran
By Peter Symonds, 30 July 2010
While promoted as means of pressuring Iran, the sanctions are a further escalation of a dangerous confrontation that is setting the stage for war.
Harsh new US penalties against Iran
By Peter Symonds, 5 July 2010
US President Obama has signed into law new measures against Iran that have the potential to heighten tensions, not only with Tehran, but America’s European and Asia rivals.
US and EU impose extra sanctions on Iran
By Peter Symonds, 19 June 2010
The latest US-led unilateral penalties set the stage for an escalating confrontation with Iran, which has denounced them as “illegal”.
One year after Iran’s presidential election
By Peter Symonds, 12 June 2010
Today marks one year since the presidential election in Iran triggered a bitter factional struggle in the Iranian ruling elite that erupted in the form of the Green movement.
UN Security Council tightens sanctions on Iran
By Patrick Martin, 10 June 2010
The UN Security Council’s fourth sanctions resolution against Iran, part of a US-led effort to isolate and weaken the Tehran regime, will be used to justify even more provocative actions against Iran.
US turns up heat on Iran
By Peter Symonds, 4 June 2010
Amid overblown press reports that Iran is building a nuclear weapon, the US and its European allies are pushing for new sanctions against Tehran in the UN Security Council this month.
Jailed Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi on hunger strike
By Richard Phillips, 24 May 2010
Acclaimed filmmaker Jafar Panahi has been jailed for more than two months in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison.
US presses ahead with UN sanctions against Iran
By Peter Symonds, 20 May 2010
The Obama administration introduced a resolution into the UN Security Council on Tuesday to impose new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programs.
Green protests fall flat
Lessons of Iran’s May Day
By Sahand Avedis, 8 May 2010
Iranian workers and teachers spurned the call of Green movement leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi for massive demonstrations on May Day. The Green leaders had hoped to relaunch their antigovernment agitation by tapping into growing working class discontent.
Iran, the US and the UN nuclear conference
By Peter Symonds, 6 May 2010
The Obama administration and the US media have exploited the Iranian president’s visit to New York to again threaten Iran over its nuclear programs and demonise the Iranian president.
Rumblings of new war in the Middle East
By Keith Jones, 20 April 2010
US and Israeli threats point to the danger of a new military conflagration in the Middle East.
Washington nuclear conference promotes US campaign against Iran, North Korea
By Patrick Martin, 13 April 2010
President Barack Obama opened the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington Monday, a two-day event that, in the guise of promoting disarmament and opposing terrorism, seeks to line up international support for the US campaign to isolate, pressure and ultimately overthrow the governments of Iran and North Korea.
New US nuclear doctrine targets Iran, North Korea
By Patrick Martin, 8 April 2010
The new Nuclear Posture Review issued by the Pentagon Tuesday is being hailed by the Obama administration’s apologists as a step towards global nuclear disarmament. It is nothing of the kind.
Ahmadinejad retreats in clash over Iran’s budget
Slashing of subsidies to begin
By Keith Jones, 2 April 2010
Iran’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has backed down from a confrontation with the country’s parliament over the implementation of a politically explosive plan to phase out $100 billion worth of price subsidies for gasoline, electricity, public transport, bread and other food staples.
US escalates threats against Iran
By Barry Grey, 1 April 2010
At two forums this week, the United States and its main allies stepped up their threats against Iran, citing the country’s alleged nuclear weapons ambitions and pledging to impose a fourth round of sanctions against the regime in Tehran.
Is a US attack on Iran imminent?
By Alex Lantier, 30 March 2010
In recent weeks there have been a series of press reports as well as statements by military experts that strongly indicate that either the Obama administration or the Israeli government, or both, may be moving toward an attack on Iran.
Washington ratchets up war threats against Iran
By Patrick Martin, 29 March 2010
The Obama administration is ratcheting up its war threats against Iran, in a calculated effort to provoke a crisis with Tehran which could produce a general war in the Middle East.
US prepares for military confrontation with Iran
By Peter Symonds, 20 March 2010
An article in the Scottish-based Sunday Herald last weekend indicated that the Obama administration is keeping open the “military option” against Iran.
US presses for new UN sanctions against Iran
By Peter Symonds, 5 March 2010
The US-led push for tougher sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program intensified this week with the circulation of a draft UN Security Council resolution to Russia and China.
The UN nuclear agency, the US and Iran
By Peter Symonds, 25 February 2010
With the Obama administration escalating its campaign for further sanctions against Iran, an IAEA report issued last week provided an apparent boost to US propaganda that Tehran is developing a nuclear weapons capacity.
Iran’s Green movement in disarray
By Keith Jones, 20 February 2010
Iran’s bourgeois opposition Green movement has been thrown into disarray by its failure to make good on its threat to stage mass protests on February 11—the 31st anniversary of the overthrow of the Shah’s US-sponsored dictatorship.
The US puts “regime change” in Iran on agenda
By Peter Symonds, 17 February 2010
As part of a drive for punitive new sanctions against Iran, the Obama administration has launched a major diplomatic offensive in the Middle East to enlist the support of its allies in the region.
Iraq: US military raid on “Iranian-backed terrorist organisation”
By Patrick O’Connor, 15 February 2010
US troops and their proxy Iraqi security forces killed at least five people on Friday during a raid on a village near the Iranian border.
Iranian regime mounts display of “national unity” on anniversary of anti-Shah revolution
By Keith Jones, 12 February 2010
To the palpable disappointment of the Western corporate media, Iran’s regime succeeded in marginalizing opposition protests on the anniversary of the popular revolution that toppled the US-backed Shah. It did so by mobilizing its supporters in large numbers and by mounting a massive security operation.
Munich Security Conference steps up threats against Iran
By Ulrich Rippert, 12 February 2010
The US delegation, and particularly Senator Joseph Lieberman and former Republican presidential candidate John McCain, used the conference to make open war threats against Iran.
US pushes for new sanctions against Iran
By Peter Symonds, 10 February 2010
Washington is pressing for the rapid imposition of new UN sanctions over Iran’s nuclear programs. As a pretext, the US has seized on Tehran’s announcement that it will produce more highly enriched uranium to fuel its research reactor.
US and EU powers greet Iranian offer with threats and bullying
By Keith Jones, 5 February 2010
The US and its European allies have given a decidedly chilly response to a very public attempt on the part of Iran to revive an International Atomic Energy Agency-brokered deal that would allow Teheran to keep the country’s only nuclear research reactor in operation.
Iran’s Green Revolution leaders seek compromise with Supreme Leader
By Keith Jones, 1 February 2010
All three of the principal leaders of Iran’s “Green Revolution” bourgeois opposition have made conciliatory public statements in recent weeks, backing off from their demand for the annulling of the June 2009 presidential election and reaffirming their support for the Islamic Republic.
Iran to eliminate price subsidies, threatening mass impoverishment
By Keith Jones, 16 January 2010
The Guardian Council of Iran’s Islamic Republic has given constitutional sanction to legislation mandating the elimination of $100 billion annually in price subsidies for gasoline, heating oil, electricity, staple foods, and other products and services.
Iranian scientist assassinated as US steps up war threats
By Bill Van Auken, 13 January 2010
Massoud Ali Mohammadi, one of Iran’s leading nuclear scientists, was assassinated in Tehran Tuesday, just two days after the top US military commander in the region announced that the Pentagon has drawn up plans to bomb Iranian nuclear sites.
The US to turn up heat on Iran
By Peter Symonds, 8 January 2010
The US administration is signalling aggressive new moves against Iran, following the expiry of President Obama’s December 31 deadline for a negotiated deal over Tehran’s nuclear programs.
The crisis of the Islamic Republic and the tasks of the Iranian working class
By Keith Jones, 29 December 2009
The mounting crisis of the Islamic Republic raises crucial questions of perspective for the Iranian and international working class.
Iran: Mass opposition protest at funeral for dissident cleric
By Keith Jones, 22 December 2009
Web sites associated with Iran’s bourgeois opposition claim hundreds of thousands of people descended on the holy city of Qom Monday to participate in the funeral procession of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri.
US threatens Iran with harsh sanctions
By Peter Symonds, 18 December 2009
As President Obama’s December deadline for negotiations with Tehran runs out, the US is pressing for tough new sanctions against Iran.
Signs of mounting crisis within Iranian regime
By Keith Jones, 11 December 2009
In defiance of a government ban, tens of thousands of university students on Monday marked Iran’s annual National Student Day by joining anti-government protests.
US pushes through IAEA censure of Iran’s nuclear programs
By Peter Symonds, 30 November 2009
The IAEA resolution sets the stage for an intensifying confrontation between Iran and the US and its European allies over the coming month.
Obama warns of new sanctions against Iran
By Peter Symonds, 20 November 2009
The Obama administration is preparing for new sanctions against Iran after Tehran called for modifications to an agreement reached last month over its stockpile of low-enriched uranium.
Wrangling continues over Iranian nuclear deal
By Peter Symonds, 30 October 2009
An international agreement on Iran’s low-enriched uranium is yet to be finalised. An initial Iranian response handed yesterday to the IAEA reportedly contains caveats that are not likely to be accepted by the US and its European allies.
Iran makes significant concession to defuse nuclear standoff
By Peter Symonds, 22 October 2009
A draft agreement was finalised yesterday to ship Iran’s low-enriched uranium to Russia and France for processing into fuel for its Tehran research reactor.
Attacks on Iranian Revolutionary Guards kill 42
By Peter Symonds, 20 October 2009
Two bombings in the eastern Iranian province of Sistan-Baluchistan on Sunday near the border with Pakistan killed at least 42 people, including six high-ranking members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
US pressure builds ahead of talks with Iran in Vienna
By Peter Symonds, 14 October 2009
In the lead-up to international talks next Monday on Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, the Obama administration has been intensifying pressure on Tehran.
US builds “coalition of like-minded nations” against Iran
By Peter Symonds, 10 October 2009
While the US is publicly backing continued international talks with Iran over its nuclear programs, preparations are continuing apace for the imposition of draconian new penalties should Tehran fail to meet American demands.
Western media steps up pressure on China over Iran
By John Chan, 8 October 2009
As US pressure escalates against Iran over its nuclear programs, a distinct anti-China undercurrent has appeared in the media over Beijing’s resistance to backing punitive new sanctions against Tehran.
New York Times recycles fabrications about Iran’s nuclear programs
By Peter Symonds, 6 October 2009
The media campaign of half-truths and fabrications over Iran’s nuclear programs stepped up a notch over the weekend.
US continues to pressure Iran after Geneva talks
By Peter Symonds, 2 October 2009
Following international talks in Geneva, President Obama has again warned Iran that it faces “increased pressure” if it fails to take “swift action” to meet its nuclear obligations.
Imperialist interests drive US focus on Iran, Afghanistan
By Patrick Martin, 2 October 2009
For three decades, under Democratic and Republican administrations, American imperialism has plunged ever more deeply into the Middle East and the region west, south and east of the Caspian Sea.
Talks with Iran open in Geneva amid threats and provocations
By Bill Van Auken, 1 October 2009
Talks between Iran and the so-called P5+1—the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany—open in Geneva today in an atmosphere of threats and provocations generated by Western governments and media over the Iranian nuclear program.
“Cheats and Deceivers”
By Bill Van Auken, 30 September 2009
In an editorial published Sunday, the Financial Times of London joined the media onslaught against Iran, calling its rulers “cheats and deceivers” who “cannot be remotely trusted” in relation to the country’s nuclear program.
Once again, on the ex-left and Iran
By Joe Kishore, 29 September 2009
The latest orchestrated provocation over Iran’s nuclear program exposes the reactionary role of the middle-class backers of the “green” opposition in Iran.
Obama follows Bush’s modus operandi on Iran
By Peter Symonds, 28 September 2009
In a manner chillingly reminiscent of the Bush administration’s buildup to the Iraq war, top White House officials yesterday intensified the US propaganda offensive against Iran.
US and European powers threaten Iran
By Patrick Martin, 26 September 2009
With all the hallmarks of an orchestrated political provocation, the US, Britain and France, with the support of Germany, denounced a supposedly secret Iranian nuclear plant, threatening stepped-up economic sanctions and possible military action.
US heightens threats against Iran
By Peter Symonds, 25 September 2009
The US and its European allies exploited this week’s UN session to threaten tough new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programs.
Iranian opposition demonstrates under pro-imperialist slogans
By Peter Symonds, 21 September 2009
Anti-government protests in Iran on Friday confirmed the openly right-wing character of the opposition movement led by defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Moussavi.
Clinton takes hard line on Iran in run-up to talks
By Bill Van Auken, 19 September 2009
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Friday enunciated a hard line against Iran in the run-up to talks scheduled October 1 between Tehran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany.
Threat of US-led sanctions against Iran
By Peter Symonds, 14 September 2009
The Obama administration warned last month that the US would press for tough new sanctions against Tehran unless it responded positively to an offer for negotiations on the nuclear issue by the end of September.
US, Europe step up pressure on Iran
By Patrick Martin, 4 September 2009
The US and the major European powers are stepping up demands that Iran curtail its nuclear research and development program in advance of a September 23 deadline, which coincides with the annual opening meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.
Turkey: The Kurdish question takes centre stage
By Kerem Kaya, 31 August 2009
In recent weeks, the AKP (Justice and Development Party) government has taken steps—since dubbed the “democratic process”—towards addressing the Kurdish question through peaceful rather than military means.
Washington’s double standard: The elections in Iran and Afghanistan
By Patrick Martin, 28 August 2009
The Obama administration and the American media, after denouncing the presidential election in Iran as “rigged” and undemocratic (without any evidence), now uphold the legitimacy of the presidential election in Afghanistan, despite growing evidence of vote fraud.
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