By Emmet O’Reilly
Saturday 3 August 2024
Emmet O’Reilly is an Irish-Iranian history student at NUIG (University of Galway)
This piece will address an increasingly problematic narrative I have been seeing in news media and discussions in apparent “left-wing” outlets in the West, there is also a huge conglomerate of leftist content creators who promote these same narratives some examples to keep an eye out for are Richard Medhurst, ”SaveSheikhjarrahnow”, Max Blumenthal. They all share the following views that I write about in the following sentences. I am referring to the common misrepresentation of the Islamic Republic of Iran as a bulwark against imperialism and Western hegemony. This is a disturbing interpretation of what has been, since its inception, a sexist, xenophobic, sectarian theocratic dictatorship, which hijacked a popular anti-monarchy pro-democratic revolution in 1979. It is important during this turbulent time in the world, that we have moral clarity and not let ourselves slip into un-nuanced and simplistic narratives. We need to call out hypocrisy and lies where we see them, whether it be from traditionally “friendly” media or the establishment.
The perspective I am writing from is one of a wish for freedom for all peoples, including the Palestinians, by liberating themselves from the apartheid genocidal state of Israel.
By the same logic, I am calling for “Women, Life, Freedom,” the slogan of the Iranian uprising of 2022. The reason I say that Palestinian liberation and the liberation of all groups in Iran are not mutually exclusive is that the statement is often seen as contentious by a portion of the Western left, who see the Islamic Republic of Iran as a counterweight to Israeli influence in the middle east and that if the Islamic Republic ceased to exist so would armed Palestinian resistance.
I hope in this piece you will see how this is a false narrative and that Palestinian resistance will only harm itself by associating with the Iranian regime. In addition, it is important to mention the irony of leftists supporting a regime that is notorious for holding leftist political prisoners or in many cases the open execution of them. The primary example of this is during the war with Iraq when the opportunity was taken during the chaos of the conflict to execute thousands of Iranian Marxists, many of whom were charged with moherab (war against God) by the recently deceased Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, also known as the Butcher of Tehran.
You will often hear from a section of the Western left, “I don’t agree with everything Iran does, but Israel must be opposed.” I really think we need to start challenging these arguments openly because It only takes the use of the same moral hypocrisy in an Israeli context to understand how ridiculous it sounds. If someone says they don’t agree with all Israeli policies concerning Gaza but still supports the occupation of Palestinian land in the West Bank, would this be acceptable? Of course not! So why don’t we apply our condemnation of authoritarianism consistently? This speaks to a larger problem of double standards within the left around condemnation, and nonsensically defending totalitarian dictatorships whether it be the Chinese Communist Party, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Assad’s Syria, or Russia, solely based on the fact they are in opposition to Europe and the United States.
The Islamic Republic of Iran supports resistance to Israeli tyranny in the form of various armed groups, Hamas being the most prominent. But is this support genuine? I argue it is not genuine or consistent. The Islamic Republic has no other interest but to further its own ideological influence over the Middle East. We see this in the case of Iraq, which has a majority Shia population (as does Iran), where the tentacles of the Iranian regime spread its influence greatly, using the excuse of religious connection. This is leading to the risk of Iraq becoming a proxy of the Islamic Republic which already has powerful militias in the country like Haashd al-Shabi as well as Iraqi Hezbollah. This is the same outcome that the Islamic Republic wants for Palestine – it is purely an alliance of convenience.
The Sunni group, Hamas, does not share an ideological or religious basis with Tehran. If a real independent Palestinian state was created tomorrow with a Hamas government that wanted to retain sovereignty and cut ties with the Islamic Republic, Iran would attempt some form of state interference. The Islamic Republic has no compassion for the Palestinian people because it only sees them as tools for its ambitions. One only needs to look at the horrific treatment of Iran’s domestic population to see this, through the complete denial of ethnic minority rights whether they be Ahwazi Arabs, Kurds (Sunni), or Baloch (Sunni).
The Iran-Iraq war provides stark examples of the illegitimacy of the Islamic Republic’s solidarity towards the Palestinians. In the eight-year war (1980 -1988), Saddam Hussein, using weapons sold by the Americans, attacked the newly formed Islamic Republic. Between 1981 and 1983, the Israelis sold $500 million worth of weaponry to Iran. Ranging from parts for F-4 fighter jets, as well as tanks. Interestingly, although at the time, the Supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini, was referring to Israel as an “enemy of Islam,” he still approved the weapon sales, though of course, he denied this. In 1982, Former Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, acknowledged the fact that Israel sold weapons to the Islamic Republic so they could destabilize the perceived threat to Israel by Saddam Hussein, it is important to note that the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) at the time were actually fighting alongside the Iraqis against the Islamic Republic.
For fear of this becoming a personal rant, I will reiterate my core point, which is that championing the Islamic Republic in supposed support of the movement for Palestinian liberation is not only counterintuitive but a waste of misplaced energy.
How we will achieve lasting change is not by endorsing any specific group but simply by showing support for Palestinian people to have their self-determination without any outside influence. If the democratic choice made by the Palestinians is Hamas, then it is Hamas. If it is Fatah or another group, then the world must accept this process of democracy, regardless of our individual qualms with any specific political party.
In the same light, we should support Iranians, especially Iranian women, in their fight for liberty and real democracy. We should listen to them and take them on as our leaders. We must fight with veracity to uphold the values of equality, solidarity, and democracy.
I will end with a quote from the inspiring women’s rights activist, Fannie Lou Hamer, that encompasses what I believe, “Nobody is free until everybody is free.”