There’s an imperialist long game in play behind Trump’s war in Iran. To extinguish the flames of war and U.S. expansion across the globe, working people must rise up.
Freedom Socialist newspaper, Vol. 47, No. 3, June-July 2026
By Linda Averill
In the lead up to World War I, revolutionary socialist Rosa Luxemburg likened imperialist rivalry to playing with matches, a game that could easily flare into a world holocaust.
Her words describe the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, a conflagration that is threatening the globe.
U.S. bombs have killed thousands of Iranians, compounding their misery from government crackdowns.
War partner Israel is creating a humanitarian disaster in Lebanon. The death toll rises alongside more than 1.2 million Lebanese fleeing from a campaign to empty the south. So-called ceasefires are a cruel hoax.
The Strait of Hormuz is ground zero. The war turned this vital trade route into the source of a global food and energy crisis. U.S. duplicity makes negotiating a “deal” with Iran impossible. South Asia and Africa are bearing the shocks alongside poor people around the world.
Imperialist rivalry spawned two world wars in the last century. Today things aren’t looking better. Luxemburg said the working class faced a choice between “socialism and barbarism.” Her words are truer now than ever.
Dire consequences.
While Wall Street swoons and soars over economic forecasts of depression or war profits, the world’s working classes are paying.
Iranians face the double calamity of military invasion and repression from their own capitalist theocracy. The Islamic Republic’s wartime security measures include an internet blackout. This hides from the world the ongoing persecution of feminists, unionists, LGBTQ+ people and other dissenters. International solidarity is a crucial lifeline.
In the Gulf countries, more than 24 million migrant laborers are the most at risk from Iran’s bombings of U.S. bases and infrastructure. Many of these workers, now unemployed or stranded, have families back home who are dependent on their income. For example, 76% of households in Nepal rely on remittances from 1.7 million Nepalese in the Gulf. This money comprises more than 25% of Nepal’s gross domestic product.
As the war drags on energy and food shocks are spiking, putting billions of people at risk. The long shadow of neocolonialism is why Africa and South Asia are especially vulnerable. This has left their productive forces underdeveloped by design. A nation like Nigeria may have oil but not the processed fuel that is made and imported from wealthy countries and corporations.
U.S.-dominated banking institutions are also piling on the economic pain. Kenya has asked the World Bank for a loan to help with war-induced fuel shortages. In turn, the Bank wants scrutiny of a program that aids orphans, seniors, and people with disabilities.
Back in the imperialist heartland, Trump wants a budget-busting $1.5 trillion for the Pentagon in 2027. This is in addition to the $200 billion more for war in 2026.
The money will come at the expense of domestic programs, including Medicaid and childcare.
These obscenities are fueling outrage. Funding forever wars and genocide has shifted public opinion since 2023. The old tactics of hyper nationalism and “holy war” rhetoric are wearing thin, even for Trump’s faithful.
Shifting world order
Newscasters are having a field day speculating why Trump launched this losing war. Theories range from stopping Iran’s uranium enrichment, “liberating” Iranians, Trump’s sociopathy, and Israel’s grip on U.S. foreign policy.
The reason is simpler. The U.S. needs control of trade routes, markets, oil and other resources to outcompete rivals such as China and Russia. The U.S. dollar, a measure of global power, is slipping against the Chinese yuan. To “Make America Great Again” requires making war and getting countries like Iran back under Uncle Sam’s grip.
It’s U.S. foreign policy as practiced by Republicans and Democrats. Styles may differ but not the goal of trying to maintain a far-flung empire.
Trump’s tactics include gunboat diplomacy, expansionist wars, and record-busting spending on weapons systems. He’s the perfect guy for U.S. decline — if he can get the public to go along.
The good news is there are few willing to follow Trump down this path. Resistance against the war, genocide in Gaza, ICE raids, domestic budget cuts and more is spreading across the political spectrum.
Working class leads the charge
Building a multi-issue, anti- capitalist movement, with education about the capitalist roots of war, is paramount. So is forging international working-class solidarity. This includes supporting the liberatory struggles of peoples in the Middle East and making global rulers pay for the destruction caused by their fossil-fuel-reliant, profit-driven system.
International labor organizations are already providing a template for how to grow working-class solidarity and muscle. From farmers and truckers in Ireland and Thailand to sailors in the Persian Gulf, many workers are responding to the crisis with strikes and shutdowns.
The imperialist wars and misery of Rosa Luxemburg’s day unleashed barbarism, but also opened an era of global rebellion, starting with Russia in 1917. Infusing today’s struggles with socialist consciousness and revolutionary determination could hasten the birth of a better world. There is no time to lose. U.S. out of Iran and the Middle East!
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