Contribution of Nosrat Iran

Dear comrades,

I am pleased to first bring you very warm greetings of solidarity from the Communist Party of Iran and wish us a successful meeting.

The time I have available is limited, so I will mention only a few points:

1st - Undoubtedly, Biden's trip to the Middle East follows the efforts that have begun since the end of the Trump era and after America's withdrawal from the nuclear agreement (nuclear deal).

We recall that in one of his first speeches after entering the White House, Biden proclaimed that "America is back to lead the world," and that America is therefore trying to return to the era of American hegemony in all areas. But the reality in the world has made this return impossible:

The bipolar and unipolar worlds ceased to exist long ago. Now we face several poles on a global and regional scale.

After the defeat in Afghanistan and the withdrawal of a large part of its forces from Iraq, America announced that it would advance its interests in the Middle East through its allies - this is the direction in which Israel's relations with the Arab states have accelerated, especially since last year. The beginning of this project was the signing of the "Abraham" treaty (Abraham is a prophet believed in by both Jews and Muslims), including Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Egypt, Jordan and Israel. Biden sought to improve relations between Israel and Saudi- Arabia during his trip to the Middle East. The meeting with the Gulf Cooperation Council and the presence at that meeting of the Iraqi Prime Minister, who is not a member of the Cooperation Council, and the Jordanian government's proposal to create a "regional NATO" are another element of creating a broad coalition against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The United States of America has been trying for years to bring the Islamic Republic regime into line with its policies in the region through regional pressure and sanctions. Yet, we know that there is no alignment between countries in the region. For example, Qatar has close relations with Iran, and representatives of the United States and Iran have negotiated over the nuclear deal at least twice in Doha, the capital of Qatar. At the same time, in the past year, with the mediation of the Iraqi government, representatives of Iran and Saudi Arabia have met three times in Iraq. The simultaneous visit of Putin and Erdoğan should also be considered in the context of global and regional competitions.

It is clear that the priority of the American strategy is in the "Indo-Pacific" region, facing its main rival China. Although the inter-imperialist war in Ukraine led the United States to bring Europe completely under its yoke and create a united front against Russia, the main war in the long run will be in the "Indo-Pacific" region.

2- Regarding the situation of the Islamic Republic of Iran, I will say that it is becoming more isolated in the region, every day. Not only by Israel's alliance with the countries of the region, but also by the protest movements in Iraq and Lebanon against the presence of forces linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran in these two countries.

However, within Iran, the regime faces several challenges that operate simultaneously:

1- The structural crisis of the Iranian economy has deepened over the past four decades, especially with the withdrawal of the United States from the " nuclear deal" in 2018 and the sanctions approved. Before the sanctions, Iran exported nearly two million six hundred thousand barrels of oil daily. Now it has reduced to 400 to 600,000 barrels, which are usually sold, cheaper on the black market, than on the international market. This revenue is mainly spent on the government apparatus, the high cost of institutions that promote superstition, the increase of the Passdaran budget and the expenses for the regime's ambitions in the region.

- There were two fundamental items in the presidential government's budget this year. Abolition of the preferred currency (4000 toman per dollar), while the dollar is bought and sold six to seven times more in banks, which was reserved for the import of basic goods such as medicines, medical supplies and six other items, namely wheat, wheat, barley, corn, cooking oil and oil grains. The cut immediately triggered a huge wave of inflation. Current inflation is between 55 and 130 percent.

All these factors create conditions for massive protests. Last year, from March 2021 to March 2022, we had more than 4,000 labor disputes, from industrial workers in the oil, gas, petrochemical, steel and sugarcane sectors in Haft Tepe to nationwide protests by teachers, from pensioners to truck drivers, from nurses to government employees, from women to students.

This number of labor disputes, in one year, is unprecedented. Since a year before Khomeini came to power, we had only about 300 labor disputes, and now there are over 4,000.

In some cases, such as the oil, gas and petrochemical workers' strikes, these strikes took place simultaneously in more than 115 locations, or 6,000 Haft Tepe workers went on strike for more than 90 days in their latest struggle.

To these protests we must also add the urban walkouts of last year, protesting water shortages, price increases and poverty in more than 36 cities.

To deal with this situation, the regime has resorted to the only element, repression.

Since May 1 of this year, a broad wave of arrests of labor activists, teachers, pensioners, writers, artists, students, women and environmental activists has begun. Hundreds of them are now in jail.

Despite fierce repression and arrests, fear and terror has largely lost its impact. In all these protests, strikes and urban uprisings, it is not only trade union demands that are being raised; they are directed against the privatization of factories, against industrial companies, against the privatization of education. Urban riots in particular always conclude with the slogans "Death to Raissi," "Death to Khamenei," "Down with the dictator." The last point is that society is moving at high speed towards revolutionary conditions. But there are still two fundamental shortcomings:

There is no clear leadership, no communist party anchored among the broad masses that can unite and lead these struggles.

As the Communist Party of Iran, we are using all our strength to overcome these two fundamental shortcomings. Both alone and in cooperation with other left and communist parties and organizations and in alliance with democratic and progressive people.

Thank you, for your attention.

Hamburg, 24.07.2022