April 22, 2026
Trump’s Iran War: Carnage waged for domination, not liberation
Despite the occasional rhetoric coming out of Trump’s mouth, the U.S.-Israeli effort to destroy Iran is not intended to free the women or other brutalized peoples of that country. It’s a war to gain political and economic clout in the region and to hamstring a major opponent of Zionist Israel. It has added immensely to the suffering of the people of Iran and Lebanon, who are also enduring unprovoked bombing by Israel. Trump’s promise of “regime change” has only brought new faces to a government that is still unabashedly misogynist, theocratic, and totalitarian.
Middle East in tatters
The bloody policies of the U.S. and Israel are devastating Iran, Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank. As of April 20, the U.S. and Israel had launched more than 13,000 missiles, leaving more than 2,000 dead and 26,500 wounded. Homes, villages and infrastructure have been ruthlessly destroyed. The environment is being poisoned. Fueled by U.S. weapons and support, Israel’s attacks on Lebanon have killed nearly 2,400, and injured 7,600. Meanwhile tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed and millions are displaced in Gaza, while the West Bank suffers a massive increase in violence from Zionist settlers.
There are no “good wars” waged for profits and hegemony, regardless of whether Republicans or Democrats are leading the attack.
In modern wars, it is always women, children, elderly and disabled people who bear the brunt. With scarcities of clean water and food, with homes, schools and hospitals reduced to rubble, survival is difficult and unsure. Women are left the task of keeping their families alive.
No good guys in the current scenario
The anti-war movement must not only oppose the U.S.-Israel war, but also the hard-right theocratic Iranian regime and its intrinsic misogyny, homophobia and transphobia. Feminists, unionists, LGBTQI+ folks, and dissenters have all been arrested, imprisoned, tortured and executed. Now is not the time to be silent about these abominations.
The war is a major setback for the Jin, Jiyan, Azadi (Woman, Life, Freedom) movement, which has won grassroots support across the nation and around the globe since 2022. The recent mass uprisings of youth remain suppressed and protesters are arrested for treason. In a real and deadly way, this war is harming the efforts of Iranians to democratize their country. As of early April, there have been 160 state executions in the country in 2026.
The fight for freedom in Iran can only be won by an indigenous, secular, militant, cohesive, working-class and feminist resistance, not a foreign power with ulterior motives. Anti-war activists must be clear: opposing U.S. warmongering does not equate to support for the theocratic regime. We must stand with the women and working people of Iran.
A legacy of resistance
Iranians have a proud history of struggle, as witnessed by the 1979 overthrow of the Shah. During that revolution, it was the women bank workers who froze government assets and brought down the monarchy. But in the rebuilding of the nation, women were betrayed by the rising right-wing theocracy that masqueraded as anti-imperialist liberators. Progressive Iranians will not make that mistake again.
As a representative from the Seattle Council for Democracy in Iran attested at an International Women’s Day rally initiated by Radical Women: “The people of Iran — women, workers, students, ethnic minorities and political prisoners — are not passive objects in a geopolitical competition between states. They are historical subjects whose struggles have repeatedly transformed the political horizon of the country and the region.”
Women are crucial to the fightback in Iran, the U.S. and everywhere across the globe. They are vital to forming an anti-war movement that can stand up to the bloodthirsty Trump regime. It is imperative to build international solidarity into a force that capitalists and their lackey politicians can’t break. With the participation and leadership of oppressed people, we can stop the endless warfare and destruction of Mother Earth.
Jin, Jiyan, Azadi! Woman, Life, Freedom!
U.S. out of the Middle East.
Dismantle the U.S. war machine.
Stand with the women and oppressed peoples of Iran.
Open the borders to all refugees.
End U.S. funding of Israel.
Solidarity with the working people of Iran, Lebanon, and Palestine.