By Louis Michael Busto Mauleon

June 23, 2025  Rebelión

 

“Workers have the obligation to be at the forefront of fighting the aggressiveness of foreign interventions”

 

We asked the Honorary President of the World Trade Union Federation, George Mavrikos, for a brief statement on the military conflict between Iran and Israel.

What will happen to Iran’s nuclear weapons?

We, as the International Workers Institute (IWI), are against nuclear weapons, as is the entire class-based trade union movement. This is a firm and non-negotiable position. However, the theories of the imperialists of NATO, the US, the EU and Israel about nuclear weapons are lies. They are excuses and hypocrisy. Just like what they said about Saddam Hussein’s “weapons of mass destruction” were lies. What they say about democracy and dictatorship and the rest is rubbish. It is madness for the tools of the capitalist dictatorship to pass themselves off as democrats; it is absurd for the salaried personnel of the dictatorship of the monopolies to talk to us about democracy.

Therefore, all this has no relation to the truth. Imperialism and the imperialists have nothing to do with truth, nor with democracy, nor with religions. They all worship only one god: profit.

So what’s the big picture?

The root cause lies in the rivalries for global hegemony and global power. A new division of the world is being produced, and each imperialist fights for the best possible position at the finish line of these competitions

Already the US has dealt a severe blow to Germany, which had based its economic power for 40 years on cheap Russian gas. Now, that is over. The first great “victory” of the US and the military-industrial complex has been at the expense of the German monopolies.

The second is the overthrow of Al Assad in Syria. That change in Syria is very critical: a turning point. Today Syria is divided into three parts: one under Turkish, one under US and one under Israeli control. Israel’s occupation of the Golan is part of the Zionists’ strategic plans for the so-called “Greater Israel”.

The verbal confrontations between Erdogan and Netanyahu are nothing but smoke and dust to confuse. The change in Syria, combined with the blow to Hezbollah and Hamas, has cut off Iran’s and China’s path to Europe. This is the second major US “victory”

Now the time has come for Iran. A large country, larger in size than many countries in Europe, with a history and culture much richer than that of the Europeans. With friendly relations with Russia and China. With a theocratic regime. And most importantly, that it has recently joined the BRICS and supports the strategy of de-dollarization and the building of a multipolar world. That is, both to displace the dollar that is printed unchecked in the US, and to ensure a safe route from China to the West.

If the US achieves its goals in Iran, it will open wide the way to Korea and Taiwan. New alliances are forming there, others are crumbling. India is a coveted bride. The same goes for Pakistan.

How do you assess some statements by Iranians supporting Israel’s attack?

We read statements from labor and other “progressive” forces in the region that essentially support Israel’s unprovoked attack on Iran. Forces that expect the US and Israel to solve the real problems in their countries?

They propose that Iran capitulate to the US and hand over power to others, as happened in Syria, previously in Iraq, in Libya, etc. Something similar to the Cuban counterrevolutionaries in exile, who from Miami ask the US government to “democratize” Cuba

Sooner or later, life will put them on the sidelines. Agreed. Everyone has the right to express their positions. And we have the right to make our observations.

The workers, however, who are the victims of imperialist rivalries, have the obligation to see the big picture. To understand what is the priority, what is dominant at the moment. What is the main task demanded by the circumstances.

And to define their position, first of all, as a class for themselves. To fight against imperialist intervention. To be the first to fight against the aggressiveness of foreign interventions, against the genocide that Israel is committing against part of the people at war.

To demand the elimination of nuclear weapons everywhere. And, at the same time, to build the front that will allow them to continue and culminate the class struggle to achieve social changes in favor of the popular masses.

So that they can build themselves, as they want and as they dream, their own country. Without exploitation and capitalist barbarism.

 

__________________________________________

-Rebelión has published this article with the permission of the author under a Creative Commons license, respecting his freedom to publish it in other sources.

Source: Rebelión,  Palestine and the Near East.